Spring high school sports in SC to be shut down because of coronavirus concerns
Spring high school sports in South Carolina will be on hold for the next few weeks.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced Sunday afternoon that public schools will be closed through March. With schools closing, that means all sporting events in the state will be put on hold.
That also means no practices for such spring sports as soccer, tennis, golf, baseball, softball and lacrosse — no school means no practices are allowed.
The S.C. High School League executive committee held a conference call Thursday to discuss the matter and the state’s superintendents had a call Friday. Another executive committee meeting is set for Monday at 1 p.m. to discuss whether or not the spring sports seasons can be salvaged, or what the next steps should be.
On Thursday, the S.C. Independent Schools Association announced it suspended spring sports from March 15 until April 3.
Teams around the state played games Friday and Saturday knowing it might be the last time they took the field for a while —possibly the last time this season. At Friday’s Hammond vs. Heathwood Hall baseball game, senior night festivities were held just in case.
“There are bigger things,” Hammond coach Chris Braciszewski said. “It was a little weird tonight. We had make-shift senior night. Heathwood was gracious enough to do that for us. Hopefully that’s not it, but you never know. It was a special night out here and one you don’t expect in March. It was a little different tonight.”
Lexington baseball coach Brian Hucks, whose team played Spring Valley on Saturday at Segra Park, told his players to be resilient during this time.
“I told them that we coach you to be resilient and to overcome things, and this is another obstacle you’ve been preparing for,” Hucks said. “It’s not something we can control. We’ll play (Saturday) then we’ll figure out the next step when the next step happens. That’s where we are.”
Other states have put games or championships on hold. North Carolina announced it is suspending spring sports until April 6. Eleven states have canceled their postseason basketball tournaments while 15 others have postponed or suspended their championships. Twelve other states will continue with basketball championships but limit fan attendance.
The Carolinas Classic All-Star basketball games set for March 28 in Wilmington, North Carolina, was canceled. This game was to be held between all-stars from North and South Carolina. The North-South basketball games at Lexington on March 21 also were canceled.
The McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic national all-star basketball games were canceled. The GEICO Nationals, which were moved to Dorman High School in South Carolina, have been postponed indefinitely.
The SC Diamond Invitational baseball tournament at Blythewood High on April 15-18 has been canceled.
The Nike Palmetto Cup boys soccer tournament set for April 6-8 at Saluda Shoals also has been canceled.
AAU basketball events on Nike EYBL, Under Armour and adidas scheduled for April and May have been canceled. ]
The Palmetto State held its state basketball championships last weekend at Colonial Life Arena. and SCISA held its championships Feb. 29 in Sumter. The SCHSL has had to postpone fall sports activities before because of hurricanes, but this is believed to be the first major disruption in spring sports.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 2:17 PM.
