The Hawaii High School Athletic Association in conjunction with its member leagues announced this afternoon that spring sports games and practices will be suspended indefinitely starting Monday in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

“It was a smart move, knowing that the virus is here and can spread,” Mid-Pacific Institute athletic director Scott Wagner said after the Interscholastic League of Honolulu earlier in the day tweeted it would be suspending athletics. “It’s good for everybody to take some time and hopefully this will pass quickly. If that happens, seniors who have been working for their final high school moment might at least be able to finish their careers.

“That would be great if we can continue (at some point) if it’s safe to do at that time. If you’ve been watching all the pro and college sports getting canceled all across the country, though, this wasn’t really a surprise.”

Spring sports affected are baseball, golf, judo, softball, tennis, track and field, boys volleyball and girls water polo. Many of those sports started their competitive seasons last week.

The season began last week for most spring sports. Besides the ILH, the other leagues are the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation, the Maui Interscholastic League, and the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

Earlier today, the ILH announced it was suspending play from Monday through April 13.

The possible resumption of play will not be made without the HHSAA first consulting with the Hawaii Department of Health and Lt. Gov. Josh Green’s office. The HHSAA will also continue to evaluate the situation and make a later determination regarding its spring state tournaments scheduled for May.

“The priority of the HHSAA continues to be the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and members of the community,” stated HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun. “We hope that play can resume before the school year ends, but must be mindful not to jeopardize the health of our community in doing so. This decision was not made lightly and is supported unanimously by our member leagues.”

All league activities will be suspended from March 16, 2020 to April 13, 2020 pic.twitter.com/Sno4psDhH1

— ILH (@ilhsports_com) March 13, 2020