COVID-19 case forces postponement of a high school state championship game
For the first time since high school sports resumed in Kentucky this fall, a COVID-19 case has prompted the postponement of a state championship.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced Monday afternoon that the KHSAA State Field Hockey Tournament scheduled Monday evening between Sacred Heart and Christian Academy-Louisville would be postponed because one of the participants in the semifinal games played Saturday reported having COVID-19 since the event.
Since the fall sports postseason began, this is the first time a tournament event directly managed by the KHSAA has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, although there have been regular-season cancellations and postponements in football, volleyball and soccer for COVID-19 reasons.
In the boys’ state soccer tournament that began Saturday, Henderson County had to forfeit its berth after reporting a COVID-19 contact on its team subsequent to it winning the 2nd Region title because it would have to spend the next two weeks as a team in quarantine.
“With this being the culminating game of the state tournament, this office wants to make every effort to decide the state championship on the field, especially given that both teams expressed a desire to postpone,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said of the field hockey title game. “While it is not practical or feasible to take this type of step in every one of the earlier rounds of postseason play, it is unquestionably the best step for this situation. We continue to encourage everyone to take all steps necessary, including regular hand-washing, universal masking, and appropriate social distancing to help get this virus under control.”
The KHSAA said the postponement would be indefinite to give contact tracers, the local health department and school health officials time to properly conduct their follow-up protocol.
The date and time for the championship game will be announced as soon as contact tracing is completed and arrangements are made with both teams. All tickets purchased for Oct. 26 will be honored on the makeup date, the KHSAA said.
The KHSAA cited student privacy laws in declining to provide more elaboration on the COVID-19 case.
The field hockey finals are the third state championship held this fall with more championships to be decided this week. Boys’ and girls’ golf finished their seasons this month in Bowling Green. Boys’ and girls’ soccer culminates with finals in Lexington on Saturday. And three classes of boys’ and girls’ cross country championships will be held this week in Bourbon County.
There are 18 high school field hockey teams in Kentucky, most of them from Louisville-area schools. Field hockey has been sanctioned as a KHSAA sport since 2014.
