The Arizona Interscholastic Association voted to cancel the 2020-21 winter sports season on Friday due to safety concerns caused by COVID-19.
The season, which was set to start on January 18 following a series of delays voted on by the board, ended before it even began.
“While we understand the Board’s position, we are saddened by this decision, especially considering that Club sports are continuing," said AIA Executive Director David Hines in a press release. "To the best of our knowledge, never in our 100-plus-year history has the AIA canceled an entire season. We want nothing more than for our students to be active in school and participating in interscholastic sports and activities."
With growing COVID-19 numbers in Arizona, the AIA Executive Board held a special executive meeting Friday, deliberating for nearly two hours closed off from the public about the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) recommendation that, due to the highest coronavirus hospitalization rate in the country, the season be canceled. Following even more discussion the public could tune into on Zoom, the AIA voted 5-4 to cancel the season.
The recommendation was based on hospitalization statistics. As of reporting, 93 percent of all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and 92 percent of all inpatient beds are in use, according to the SMAC. The AIA agreed that sports and gatherings could increase the already-high numbers.
“Unfortunately, it is expected that the state will see a continued rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations for some time. As medical professionals, we cannot in good conscience recommend that students engage in a winter season under the current conditions,” said SMAC Committee Chair Dr. Kristina Wilson.
Rick Greer, a board member and representative of the 2A conference, said many of the smaller schools - including those in sparsely-populated areas and on Native American reservations - are located in areas that are already struggling with containing the spread of the disease. Playing and practicing, he said, would only make things worse.
"If we do not take this recommendation from the SMAC seriously, those numbers are going to be worse. I feel like we need to honor that recommendation. I'm against winter sports at this time,” he said.
It is not the first season canceled for some schools, though. Many districts, including the Phoenix Union High School District and Tolleson Union High School District, shortened and eventually canceled their fall sports seasons in 2020. The pair of districts had not yet announced their starting dates for competition, despite the AIA’s Jan. 18 kick-off set to happen before this vote.
Zach Munoz, a board member and the District Athletic Director for the PUHSD, cited the SMAC numbers, and said his vote against the winter season for the AIA was due to the same concerns as those canceling the season for his own district.
"I don't feel we can make a decision that overrides the decision of doctors,” he said.
The vote was 5-4. Several of the board members were still in favor of sports happening this season. The discussion centered around the health of the students, staff and community.
But board member Camille Casteel said the mental health of the students set to participate in winter sports could be harmed by the lack of activity.
“I'm very concerned about the emotional connection and what this will say to our seniors,” Casteel said
Also a cause for concern by those voting “yes” for the winter sports season was the fact that club and independent sports will continue to play. They believe the school teams are better equipped to handle safety protocols.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, there have been several leagues and tournaments throughout the state, hosted independently from the high schools or AIA.
For example, the Grind Session, a local prep basketball league with several Arizona teams, has been playing games for several months. Even a few squads from outside Arizona have been welcomed to play in Phoenix tournaments in recent months. Several board members believed the kids who were going to play AIA sports will find another way to get on the court, field or mat.
"Our athletes are going to play, they're going to congregate," Board Member Jim Dean said. "Jan. 18 was the start date with the understanding that (the season) would close if the governor shut down the state. The governor has not done that."
Raymond S. Kellis boys’ basketball coach De’Rahn Stinson was dealt the news mere hours before his team was set to practice on Friday. He said he would likely have his team scrimmage that day to let the kids ‘blow off some steam.’ After Friday, though, is uncertain.
“Overall it’s just crazy. I don’t know what to tell my kids, especially the seniors who might have gotten a chance to go to college and get it paid for,” he said.
Stinson agreed that kids around the state would eventually find some method of competing, AIA or not.
“There will 100 percent be another league. As a coach, you’re just trying to do the best for the kids so you just hope whoever has these leagues is doing it for the right reasons and that they’re safe and not just about the money,” he said.
Several board members said the fact that kids might play outside of school should not factor into the decision. Just because the option exists, Munoz said, does not mean the AIA should change its own mind.
“I understand what clubs are doing,” Munoz said. “We can't control them. What we can control is what we do. I cannot support moving forward with winter sports."
Many coaches and players were blindsided by the news, expecting to play in less than two weeks from the Friday meeting.
Sunrise Mountain girls’ basketball coach Jenn Tolle, a science teacher at the school, had just finished her last class of the day when she heard the news of the canceled season. She wanted to be able to tell her players of the cancellation rather than have them find out on social media or other avenues.
The Mustangs were already set for a non-basketball team bonding activity on Friday. Tolle expected some strong, raw emotions from the players, and a chance to simply be together with their friends in a controlled environment. However, she was not predicting she would have easy words to say to her students.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of things in the eleven years at this school, but this situation both as a coach and a teacher has been absolutely unreal in every way,” she said.
“I don’t know what to expect for the future.”
As of reporting, the March 1 date for spring sports had yet to change. There were no set plans for the AIA to discuss that season. The 2019-20 spring season was immediately halted last school year at the beginning of rising COVID-19 numbers in Arizona.
Hines said he hopes people will stay safe, and that the statistics drop enough for the spring season to go on as planned.
"It is my sincerest hope that all Arizonans will follow the CDC and Arizona Health guidelines by wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and practicing social distance to decrease cases and hospitalizations," Hines said. "If for no other reason, I hope we can do it for the kids.”
