On Thursday, March 26, 2020, the OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass announced that winter tournaments for wrestling, basketball, and ice hockey will not be completed.
This news comes just two weeks from the day that Snodgrass originally announced that the tournaments would be postponed just an hour before game time for the start of the girls basketball tournament in Columbus.
The OHSAA anticipates that schools will not be able to reopen for many weeks, which will prevent interscholastic athletics from taking place.
“We are just devastated that the tournaments cannot be completed,” said Snodgrass. “But our priority is the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, communities and officials. Governor Mike DeWine is asking all Ohioans to do everything they can to stop the spread of this virus. That request, along with our schools not being able to reopen for weeks, means that school sports cannot happen at this time. Even if our schools reopen this spring, it will be difficult to find facilities willing to host the tournaments. Most campuses are shut down until mid to late summer.
“We are already planning for ways that these student-athletes will be honored at next year’s state tournament,” said Snodgrass.
The OHSAA went on to announce that the 16 schools that qualified for the girls basketball state tournament will all receive state tournament programs.
Additionally, the start of OHSAA’s spring sports of softball, lacrosse, baseball, track and field, and boys tennis are still postponed coinciding with the schools not being open.