As governor closes schools through June, spring prep sports season officially ends

Prairie football coach Mike Peck tweeted: “Right decision, but my heart hurts for a ton of amazing kids right now. Students, spring sports athletes, and mostly the senior class.”

Fort Vancouver softball coach: Erick Johnson tweeted: “Tremendously sad day for all 2020 students and athletes.”

But right after the governor’s announcement, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association wasn’t quite ready to close the door on the spring sports season yet.

Because high school sports and activities were not specifically addressed in Monday’s announcement, the WIAA sought clarification on how the order impacts regular-season and postseason sports and activities.

“It is understandable that the focus of this measure has been on classroom learning,” the WIAA said in a statement late Monday afternoon. “However, the WIAA is awaiting more information on how events would be impacted if a stay-at-home order were lifted on May 4.”

About an hour after its first statement, as the WIAA clung to hope that it could still find an unprecedented solution to an unprecedented problem, the official clarification came from Inslee. It confirmed that the spring sports season is over.

“The decision was undoubtedly a difficult one for Governor Islee,” the WIAA’s updated statement read. “The WIAA Executive Board and the WIAA staff feel for those students around the state that have had their seasons or careers cut short. This terrible disease has not only prevented students from creating lifelong memories through competition, it has limited the valuable lessons gained through participation in education-based athletics and activities.”

On Monday, Washington became the 14^th state in the country to close school buildings for the school year. About a half hour later, Idaho became the 15^th state.

Mick Hoffman, executive director of the WIAA, said last week the organization had been “working on contingency plans on top of contingency plans.”

Those plans will now turn to what impact the current health crisis could have on sports in the fall.

“That’s a conversation we have started,” Hoffman told KJR radio in Seattle on Friday, “especially when we hear about the potential of relapse of outbreaks (in the fall).”

The WIAA was already kicking around ideas for ways to celebrate all athletes, especially the seniors, of the spring season if school did not return as normal, even if that celebration could not happen until the fall.

“We are searching, scratching for something for them,” Hoffman said of seniors, “not just to give them hope in the short term, but to reward them for the 31/2 to four years of preparation that they were hoping to execute this spring.”

These unprecedented times are tough on everyone, as Reykdal said “This is a tough day for us in Washington state.”

The challenge is amplified for Hoffman, a longtime Vancouver schools administrator who is his first year as WIAA executive director after taking over for Mike Colbrese last summer.

“I’ve been looking back at Mike’s playbook, and this chapter, he hadn’t gotten to it yet,” Hoffman said. “We are definitely building as we fly.”