TSSAA: Longer school closures won't affect target date for basketball, spring state tournaments

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TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress said the high school athletics association's hopes to complete girls and boys basketball state tournaments as well as hold spring sport state tournaments will not be affected if schools are closed until April 24.

Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday called for schools to be closed until that date because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We feel that we can make it happen if the students get back in school by then," Childress wrote in an email to The Tennessean. "We saw the press conference and still are optimistic."

Lee's call to keep schools closed includes all athletic activities, including games, practices, conditioning and scrimmages.

The high school athletics association's Board of Control voted unanimously a week ago to approve Childress' recommendation that it keep the basketball state tournaments postponed over coronavirus concerns and hold them at a later date if conditions improve.

The tournament would be held in mid-May, Childress told the board a week ago. 

It also approved a measure to hold Spring Fling, the Olympic-style festival featuring all five sanctioned spring sports, even if it means moving it from May 19-22 to early June.

"The athletes need to know we are trying to save their season," Childress said.

An abbreviated season is fine with Forrest softball coach Shelby Stinnett as long as her team can play.

"Even if it's only for a month ... would love to see my seniors play a little bit of their season," Stinnett posted on Twitter.

The girls state basketball tournament was suspended after the quarterfinals. 

Childress said the basketball tournaments could be held in a six-day span with the girls completing their tournament on Monday and Tuesday and the boys tournament being held Wednesday-Saturday.

Childress told the Board of Control that Middle Tennessee State University is open to working with the high school athletics association to hold it at Murphy Center, the original site of the tournament.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.