NO SCHOOL, NO SCHOOL SPORTS?

With the school year looking like it could be cancelled (see page 6), the TSSAA High School Basketball State Championship and all spring sports could suffer the same fate.
A statement by TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress saying, “We’re an organization of schools, an extension of the school day, so if schools are not in session our members won’t be able to play,” he seemed to indicate the chance to have spring sports rested in the hands of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
Lee cancelled schools across the state until April 24. If he were to cancel the rest of the year, it appears sports would go away as well.
With that problem existing all over the country, petitions in several states are trying to get it played in the summer. But one state does it every year.
Iowa is the only state in the nation that plays both its high school baseball and softball seasons strictly in the summer, starting the season in late May and continuing into July.
Now, there is still time. If schools were to get back in session this year, spring sports could start with the district tournament.
“We would like to remind you that there is no TSSAA requirement for schools to play regular season games in spring sports. We realize that a number of districts and regions use regular season results for seeding purposes at postseason tournaments. We encourage administrators to begin conversations with other schools in your district/region to discuss how these cancellations will be treated for the purposes of postseason seeding,” says a letter on the TSSAA website.