The writing is on the wall.
Following a Monday announcement from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, schools are closed indefinitely and on Wednesday the entire Commonwealth was placed under a “stay at home” order until at least April 30.
With schools out for the foreseeable future — and it’s hard to imagine them opening before the “stay at home” order is lifted — the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association still hasn’t made a decision on its remaining winter championships (and spring sports, but that’s a column for another time).
The question is: Why? What purpose does it serve to keep punting the ball?
The winter championships still technically going on are the boys and girls basketball tournaments plus the Class AA swimming and diving championship meet.
Locally, the Coudersport girls are still (again, technically) alive after having defeated Blacklick Valley 54-46 on March 11. Now, a full three weeks later, the Lady Falcons haven’t even been able to take the court at a practice, let alone a game, since that victory.
When it’s all said and done and schools can reopen, it will have been at least a full month — and probably at least two full months — since that game and since other teams across the state were able to play.
Are we to expect those teams — who will likely need at least a week of practices together before suiting up again — to be able to compete at the same levels they were before the playoffs were suspended?
The answer is no, and with athletes having varying levels of access to workouts at home, it just doesn’t seem feasible to hold the rest of the basketball tournament, which was suspended just before the quarterfinal round. Any momentum and chemistry these teams had before the virus outbreak hit has been reset, and players will absolutely not be in the same shape they were prior to this.
The same is true for swimming and diving. After weeks, if not months, away from the water — after all, pools and gyms are closed, too — will these athletes be in championship-worthy condition to finish this off?
Again, no, even if a week of practice would take place before any potential meet.
This is all before factoring in the involved athletes that would take part in any potential spring sports or activities, as well.
So what is the PIAA waiting for? Why not follow the suit of neighboring states New York and Ohio and call the rest of the postseason off?
It’s time for the PIAA to come forward and cancel its remaining winter championships once and for all.
No matter the decision, there will be a “what if” from someone involved. If play does eventually resume, losing teams (and individual athletes) will fairly ask what could have been had their late-season momentum and chemistry not gotten halted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
And if play for the 2019-20 playoffs never resumes, everybody involved will ask what could have been if not for the virus.
Again, it’s a tough ending no matter which way you slice it.
With that said, it’s better to just make the call.
Those involved — particularly the athletes — probably disagree. The players and their coaches have worked hard all season and to have their shots at glory taken away is a really tough way to end what were otherwise exceptional seasons.
It would be especially hard on seniors who suited up for their high school finales and didn’t even know it. They certainly deserved a better ending than what’s in front of them right now.
But this is an unprecedented time, and the longer schools remain closed and athletics remain halted, the more it’s clear that any solution to resuming the remaining winter playoffs when it’s safe to do so would be unreasonable.
(Joel Whetzel, a Bradford Era sportswriter, can be reached at jwhetzel@bradfordera.com.)
