The Coronavirus has forced the cancellation of almost all public events in the United States this spring, including a number of athletic competitions, both at Friends Select and at the national level.

The only Friends Select events that have been officially canceled are this season’s Crew regattas. This decision did not come from the FSS Athletic Department, but instead from US Rowing, which canceled all events nation-wide for the 2020 season. Crew was scheduled to row in nine regattas this season.

Softball, Baseball, and Boys Tennis are all still scheduled to resume on April 13th, although that date is subject to revision by the school administration. If the current date for return remains, Softball will miss ten games, Baseball will miss six, and Boys Tennis will miss three. Additionally, games against George School and Westtown, which have both closed for the remainder of the school year will be canceled. Considering no spring sports teams have any scheduled games before the second week of May, a further school closure could result in the cancellation of the season.

Athletic Director Bill Klose said on Sunday that very little has been decided thus far: “so much is still up in the air right now. We’ll know more in a few days.” He added that he feels a great deal of sympathy for the seniors affected by COVID-19: “They aren’t getting this last experience with their teammates. It was supposed to be their moment and their season and now it may have ended before anyone knew.”

Student-athletes at Friends Select also feel disappointed by these postponements and cancellations. Softball player Margot Schneider ‘22 articulated a sense of loss felt by many student-athletes: “We didn’t get to play any games in the time when we were at school and now we’re all stuck in quarantine… I want to remain hopeful that we’ll go back to school and play as a team for the last few games of the season.” Margot and Rachel Luce ‘21 both echoed Bill’s disappointment for the senior class. “All of them (the seniors) have worked so hard to improve the Softball team and they deserve a normal season and another Friends League championship,” said Rachel. A Friends League title this year would have been the class of 2020’s third.

COVID-19 has also forced many major sports leagues to cancel or postpone significant competitions. The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, which bring in over $375 million dollars in annual revenue, have been canceled. The NBA, MLB, NHL, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, MLS, and NWSL have all postponed events indefinitely.