BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Winter sports teams in Western New York remain in limbo with another delay to the upcoming sports season.
The Section VI Executive Committee voted Wednesday to further delay the start of winter sports until January 18th, nearly two weeks later than the original pause date of January 4th. In addition, they've canceled the indoor track and field season.
“We as a Section remain committed to conducting our winter sport seasons,” Section VI President Brett Banker said in a press release. “We are hopeful that by making this difficult decision, we are giving our communities, health departments, school officials and families just a bit more time.”
Winter state championships have already been canceled but the Section is holding out hope of having some type of season. With the upcoming holiday break, they hope to have better clarification as to where things stand when school gets back in session.
“We are encouraged by the measured and cautious reopening plan that the Department of Health and Governor’s Office have endorsed,” Banker said. “Schools are opening up. By starting winter sports on January 18 it allows us time to examine the numbers after the holiday season and gives athletic departments time to better prepare.”
As of now, low and moderate risk sports will be able to begin practices January 18th but there's still a lot of questions surrounding high risk winter sports. The Section hopes those sports will be further examined by the Governor at that time.
Meanwhile, the indoor track and field season has been canceled due to a lack of available facilities being able to host several schools at one time. The sport being considered low risk was also an issue.
