TOPEKA, Kan. - While KSHSAA Offices are closed and its staff is working from home, many High School Athletic Directors and Coaches are hoping KSHSAA is coming up with a plan to resume activities as soon as possible.
Are we looking at a fall lost season with a cancellation of fall sports or will summer workouts go on as planned?
The Kansas State High School Activities Association is preparing for both possibilities, as well as every possibility in between, as it strategizes the resumption of athletics in the state.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced sports at all levels nationwide to come to a halt. The KSHSAA canceled the state basketball tournaments after the quarterfinal rounds on March 12, the same day Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state of emergency.
High school sports in Kansas never resumed. Six days after the state basketball tournaments were called off and one day after Kelly closed all schools for the rest of the academic year, the KSHSAA canceled all spring sports.
Since then, the coronavirus crisis has only swelled. Kelly issued a statewide stay-at-home order that was extended to May 3.
KSHSAA is also hoping to enact temporary plans to adjust moratorium periods in the summer that restrict when athletes can work out.
While the KSHSAA is hopeful that it can get athletics rolling again in the summer, the threat of fall sports being affected looms in the background.
KSHSAA administration will present its contingency plans during its online Board of Directors meeting scheduled for May 1.
Kansas was the first state in the nation to close schools for the rest of the academic year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, so expect a similarly cautious approach when it comes to resuming athletics.
Ultimately, like the rest of the nation, the KSHSAA is at the mercy of the coronavirus. The association will wait for the state to open schools, which could happen on a county-by-county basis, before enacting any plans for resuming activities.