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The Virginia High School League (VHSL) will delay the spring sports season for two weeks due to COVID-19 (the coronavirus) concerns, according to a Friday, March 13, announcement from VHSL Executive Director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun.

The announcement stated the first play date for spring sports will now be Monday, March 30. It originally was Monday, March 16.

The outdoor track championships, tennis championships and the VHSL Spring Jubilee are not affected by this delay, and all championships are still scheduled on their original dates, officials said in the announcement. The Crisis Management Committee will meet again Wednesday, March 25, to re-evaluate current conditions.

“After continuing to assess the impact of COVID-19, we convened the VHSL Crisis Management Committee, and it was decided that the best course of action and most prudent at this time was to delay spring sports first play date by two weeks,” Haun said in the announcement. “The VHSL continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 and will continue discussions with public health officials and key stakeholders.”

Officials stated in the announcement that during this two-week delay to the start of the spring sports season, local school divisions will have the authority to schedule spring practices. Any game not played due to this delay, or a school division not being allowed to travel, will not count as a forfeit.