Public schools in Maryland to cancel all sports for fall and winter

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association announced Monday the cancellation of fall and winter high school sports for 2020 because of coronavirus concerns.

The covid crisis forced the cancellation of all spring sports last school year.

The MPSSAA said high school athletic competitions will be postponed until the start of the second semester, which begins in late January in the state.

“The health and safety of student participants, coaches, and officials is a primary concern for the return of interscholastic athletics and activities,” the MPSSAA said in a news release.

The MPSSAA in consultation with the
State Superintendent of Schools, the MD Department of Health, and the Public School
Superintendent Association of Maryland has postponed the 2020 high school fall and
winter competition season during the first semester. https://t.co/tp0F79IueB pic.twitter.com/e4dwh52czY

— MPSSAA (@MPSSAA_Org) August 3, 2020

The fall sports season was set to start with tryouts on Aug. 12, the Baltimore Sun reported. Sports played in the fall season under the MPSSAA are field hockey, football, volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls soccer, and golf. Winter sports are basketball, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, and wrestling.

The MPSSAA didn’t announce a plan for sports to be played during the second semester, but said there would be an announcement “in the coming weeks prior to the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.”