Hat High's Ethan Scott leads his race at a 2018 city high school track and field meet at Rotary Track located at Crescent Heights High School. Alberta high school officially cancelled sports for the rest of the school year but will give this year's provincial championship tournament hopes a chance to do so in 2021.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
It was a given by now that no more high school sports would be played this season, but it was made official on Wednesday.
And there is a glimmer of good news for Medicine Hat in the wake of the announcement.
The Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association revealed that the ongoing limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic make provincial finals impossible.
The release stats “… even if schools were to reconvene before the end of the school year we cannot anticipate a scenario by which championships can be held for the balance of the 2019-20 school year.”
“The safety of student athletes and those attending ASAA athletic events as well as those loved ones they may subsequently associate with remain a focus as we arrived at this decision.”
ASAA badminton and track and field championships were to be hosted in Medicine Hat. But South Zone secretary Marg Derbyshire tells the News that hosts for the cancelled events have been offered the chance to remain as hosts in the 2020-21 season. That will all be finalized when the ASAA holds its annual general meeting in June.
Nothing can be done about the disappointment felt by everyone impacted by the lost badminton, track and rugby seasons, however. Basketball zones and provincials also went unfinished due to the pandemic.
