Local sporting events suspended amid coronavirus concerns
It was shaping up to be a normal afternoon for Peter Kim, as the Crescenta Valley High girls’ swimming coach oversaw his team practice Thursday in the school’s on-campus pool.
Then Kim’s cellphone rang, leading to him answering the call from a school administrator.
The message was succinct — all practices and sports involving the three high schools within the Glendale Unified School District would be halted until at least April 13.
The decision was based on mounting concerns from the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.
The Glendale Unified School District announced Thursday they are canceling large group events through mid-April, including open houses, assemblies and sports games.
Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Hoover from the Glendale Unified School District, along with St. Francis, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Flintridge Prep, St. Monica Academy and Holy Family, all have postponed their sporting events until further notice.
Schools within the Burbank and Pasadena unified school districts are following suit with Glendale as well.
“In the best interest of student health and safety, and in light of recent directives from state and local health authorities to practice social distancing, we have made the decision to suspend all Pacific League CIF practices and competitions from March 13 through April 13,” read a joint statement from the Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena unified school districts released Thursday. “This decision has been made in collaboration with our fellow CIF Pacific League superintendents. We will reassess the situation in early April and determine the plan for practice and competition beyond April 13, 2020.”
The statement was signed by all three district superintendents, including Vivian K. Ekchian of the Glendale Unified School District.
Kim instructed the athletes to vacate the pool before explaining the situation to them.
Kim, who piloted the Falcons swimming team to a CIF Southern Section Division III championship last season, was taken aback with the news. However, he understood the decision.
“Safety becomes the main priority,” said Kim, who is the school’s girls’ athletic director and assistant principal in charge of athletics. “It’s just a minute-by-minute situation; things keep changing over the virus.
“The kids are disappointed, but there’s no use fighting it. We’ll just stay in communication and hope for the best.”
The St. Francis’ basketball team was set to participate in the CIF State Division II championship game Saturday in Sacramento against Stockton Weston Ranch before the CIF State office decided Thursday morning not to play 12 state contests because of the COVID-19 world-wide pandemic.
The Golden Knights were attempting to win a state crown for the first time in program history.
St. Francis standout senior Andre Henry was taken back by the news.
“It was heartbreaking at first,” said Henry, who will attend UC Irvine in the fall. “Just the way how the season ended abruptly and out of our control, which I think sucks the most because we worked extremely hard this year. We just wanted to finish our story.”
St. Francis and Flintridge Sacred Heart are members of the Mission League, which will suspend their sports activities through at least March 28. It also applies to the Sunshine League, in which some Tologs teams compete.
Flintridge Prep first-year athletic director Sean Beattie spent Thursday canceling transportation arrangements for the sporting events.
“This is very unusual and we’re heading into the middle of the spring season,” said Beattie, who is also the school’s boys’ volleyball coach. “It’s strange having to do these things and you never know what will happen.
“You want your students to be safe and healthy. That’s the most important thing.”
Beattie said Flintridge Prep, which is in the Prep League, will make a determination around March 30 on whether or not to proceed with athletic events.
At St. Monica Academy, athletic director Darren Bradley was forced to postpone sporting events into late March or early April.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” Bradley said. “We have to do what’s right. It would be great to hopefully get back to playing sports.”
Holy Family athletic director Glory Williams said the Horizon League will be suspended until at least March 31.
Some schools outside the area have opted to continue competing in events, minus spectators.
The virus also caused junior college sports to be suspended indefinitely across California, including Glendale Community College.
The California Community College Athletic Assn. Board of Directors voted Thursday to “immediately postpone practices outside of regularly scheduled classes, and competition for all spring sports, as well as any and all nontraditional sports seasons, indefinitely.”
Said Jennifer Cardone, the association’s interim executive director, in a statement: “We regret the effect this has on our outstanding student-athletes and the hard work and dedication they’ve invested in their seasons. However, we feel it’s in the best interest of our student-athletes to take this action.”
The NCAA announced that the men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournament would be held without spectators Wednesday. About 24 hours later, the organization canceled March Madness all together.
A few hours after the initial NCAA announcement on Wednesday, the NBA announced it will suspend the season indefinitely, and within a day, other major sports such as the MLS and NHL followed suit.
