Governor Cuomo announces schools will remain closed for rest of academic year; Spring sports season officially cancelled

LATHAM – The big domino across New York State has fallen, Friday afternoon.

In his daily COVID-19 press briefing, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo officially announced today that all schools across the Empire State will remain closed through the remainder of the academic school year. With the announcement of schools remaining closed to the public, it would also mark the cancellation of this year’s Spring sports season in Allegany County, in Section V, and across the state.

The official press release from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is as follows:

“In accordance with Governor Cuomo’s announcement today that New York schools will be closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the school year, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s 11 member Sections have cancelled all remaining spring sports. Sections 8 and 11 cancelled their spring regular seasons on April 21st.  At present, 43 other state high school associations have cancelled their sports seasons in similar fashion according to media reports.

This week, NYSPHSAA President Paul Harrica will begin the process of selecting members to serve on an ad-hoc committee to address and analyze the potential impact of COVID-19 on the fall 2020 interscholastic athletic season. The ad-hoc committee will include school and district superintendents, principals, athletic directors, Section Executive Directors and NYSPHSAA’s Executive Director, as well as potential representation from the NYS Education Department, NYS School Boards Association and the NYS Department of Health. The committee will convene to make recommendations if needed to NYSPHSAA’s 11 member Sections to assist with planning and coordination of high school athletic programs.  

“I would like to commend the work of the 11 NYSPHSAA Section Executive Directors who have worked tirelessly to benefit the students in their Sections. Many throughout our state were hopeful students would have the chance to participate in high school athletics this spring and return to some sense of normalcy,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has taken a toll on many aspects of our lives and high school athletics is one of them. At this time, we must focus our attention on the health and safety of all New Yorkers. Please stay safe and stay positive during this difficult time.”

On March 23rd, NYSPHSAA announced the cancellation of the four remaining winter state championship events and was forced to cancel all spring state championships on April 27th as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.”