What seemed like a foregone conclusion is now official. There will be no Hawai’i High School Athletic Association sports for the rest of the spring season.
All of the fans of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation can now ponder “what if?” and the players will have what little was played of the season etched in their memories.
For the seniors, some whom have played their last game, the news hit especially hard.
There are a couple of nuggets of good news that come from the inevitable news delivered by the HHSAA last week.
Thus far, our island has a relatively low number of documented COVID-19 cases, which is a tribute to the efforts that our local and state governments have implemented to protect us adequately from an epidemic that has killed over 40,000 Americans, and over 100,000 people worldwide. Those numbers continue to climb daily.
Hopefully, there will be an end in sight, but not without some long-term residual impacts. Let’s face it, the world we lived in before COVID-19 can be reflected on fondly in our memory banks as another time.
We will live in an even-more-conscientious world than we ever have before, with more rules and regulations that we will become accustomed to.
This happened after 9/11, when flight restrictions and regulations changed forever. We have lived with that new normal, and have the perception of being much safer when we travel than when we did previously.
The games will return, and the kids will continue to work on their abilities to hone the craft of their sport of choice, but will we be back the same way? Realistically, probably not, and that is OK as long we are safe.
When high school sports return will depend on a lot of variables, according to the latest HHSAA press release.
They thanked some of the significant contributors to the KIF — our seniors.
“To our seniors, we thank you for the positive contributions you’ve made to your teams, schools and communities,” HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun wrote in a press release.
“While this worldwide event has caused you to grow up faster than planned, you all have very bright futures ahead. We hope the lessons learned while participating in education-based athletics, along with the friendships and memories made, will make a lasting impression.”
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
