The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) suspended all of its postseason events effective immediately on Thursday afternoon due to concerns related to COVID-19.
The Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals were scheduled to take place this weekend, as were the finals for Ice Hockey and Girls Gymnastics. The Girls & Boys Basketball Tournaments were already midway through earlier rounds of their playoff progressions. Every other sport, including the Boys & Girls Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving, already had their finals take place.
“Based on the events of the last 48 hours and with things changing by the minute, we believe we have no choice but to suspend our winter tournaments immediately,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said in a statement on the MHSAA website. “This is a suspension until we have a better handle on the situation. The health and welfare of everyone involved is our number one priority.”
Uyl’s statement came after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recommended a stoppage of large gatherings in order to assist in preventing the spread of the virus.
You can read the MHSAA’s full coverage of coronavirus updates here.
Per LiveScience.com, there are currently two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan.
It’s just High School Swimming🤷♂️
There are actually twelve confirmed cases in Michigan as of Thursday, and all K-12 schools (technically the announcement says “school buildings”) in the state are closed from Monday the 16th through April 6. The MHSAA announcement was a little before Gov. Whitmer announced the school closings, but it would have been near-impossible for high school sports to keep running anyways.
They coulda at least announced it before most of the teams were on their way to their hotels.
Unfortunate. My heart goes out to all the athletes that worked so hard this season only to have it cut short