The South Dakota High School Activities Association has made the decision to cancel all of their sports and activities for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. This comes after South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem stated on Monday that "it just doesn’t make sense to bring our kids back into our school buildings this year."
A week and a half ago, the High School Activities Association held a 'board of directors' meeting to discuss a possible schedule to get all of its postponed events in once kids returned to school in early May.
SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos released this statement on Monday afternoon.
“With the Governor’s announcement of in-person school closure for the remainder of the school year, all remaining SDHSAA events for 2019-20, to include all spring activities and all postponed winter events, are cancelled. This is an unprecedented time across our state and country, and we do not make this decision lightly. We thank all of the participants, their coaches/directors/advisors/administration, their parents, and everyone else who has dedicated tremendous amounts of time, passion, and effort to these events. To our senior participants- we thank you for everything you have done for your schools and communities and wish you the very best in your bright futures. This is difficult, but the lessons you’ve learned and friendships you’ve made through high school activities will last your lifetime. The cancellation will be formalized at the April 21st Regular Meeting of the SDHSAA Board of Directors. We look forward to the resumption of high school activities during the 2020-21 school year, and will continue work on those events at this time. The SDHSAA thanks everyone involved for their patience and understanding throughout this process.”
The High School Activities Association does not plan on giving out any sort of team placement awards for its high school basketball season either. Dan Swartos mentioned, however, discussions will take place at the April board meeting in an attempt to honor all of the kids involved.
