Massive Snows Force Area Winter Sports Teams
To Shift Plans for Postseason Tournaments
While the status of the area’s high school winter sports schedules is murky, one thing is clear: It’s a mess with no easy answers.
Because the impact of recent winter weather the last two weeks, high school sports schedules are in disarray.
“It’s had a drastic impact with the schedule,” said Brian Garvey, the Director of Student Activities at J.E.B. Stuart High School.
While plans were still being finalized as of this newspaper’s press time, athletic directors were taking a wait-and-see approach. Area schools include Fairfax County schools Stuart, Falls Church, Marshall and McLean; and Falls Church City’s George Mason.
The cancellations come with swimming, wrestling and gymnastics all in their respective postseasons, and boys and girls basketball gearing up for the playoffs.
Other factors complicate matters. The structure of the playoffs makes rescheduling difficult; students have missed class time in addition to athletics; and facilities and support staff have to be worked out.
“The biggest impact is not on the schedule,” said Tom Horn, Mason’s Athletic Director. “The biggest impact is on the athletes and the preparation.”
Rushing the kids back into action without practice or re-establishing a routine is something that Horn is concerned about.
“I’m more concerned with the athletes’ progress,” he said. “That’s the biggest impact in our perspective. One of the fears is rushing kids back into competition. That’s a tough choice.”
Wrestling’s district tournaments were snowed out last weekend. A plan being considered is to essentially have a “super regional,” tentatively scheduled for Feb. 16-17 at Fairfax for the bigger schools. Mason had its Region B Sectional canceled last week and may have a similar plan for the regional tournament at Warrenton.
For swimming, the bigger schools have had their regionals impacted, and Mason’s Dulles District meet was canceled.
A possibility for basketball, for both the bigger schools and Mason, is to cancel the rest of the regular season and prepare for the postseason.
