Siloam Springs Youth Baseball announced Friday it was canceling the 2020 season due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The league made the announcement on its Facebook page: "Dear parents and players, with the Governor's announcement yesterday and the uncertainty of when or if we will get to play, SSYB has made the decision to cancel the season altogether. It was a tough decision, but we felt like it is the best thing to do at this time."
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday gyms would be allowed to reopen under specific guidelines on May 4, but team and youth sports were still prohibited, according to an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. An announcement will be made later this month on what might be allowed this summer, the article said.
SSYB president Mike Williamson said canceling the 2020 season was a difficult decision for the league to make.
"The toughest part was all the volunteers working from January to March taking registrations, finding coaches, having tryouts, coaches drafting their teams and then it abruptly stopping," Williamson said. "We had 350 kids sign up and we had coaches for every team ready to teach the kids the game of baseball."
In an earlier Facebook post on April 23, the league asked its members for feedback regarding starting the season in June and ending in July. Coaches also reached out to parents, Williamson said.
"We had the coaches text all their parents last week to see who was still interested in playing this summer," he said. "It was about a 60/40 split -- 60 percent for playing, 40 percent against. The main concern I heard from parents and coaches was that it would still be too dangerous, too hot, daily football practices started in July and some had vacations planned."
Williamson said the league needed at least 90 percent interested in playing to still try and have a season.
"Anything below that and you have to start moving kids from teams that are full to teams that are shorthanded," he said. "Parents start getting upset when you start doing that."
Williamson said the league will begin planning for the 2021 season.
He also said SSYB has been awarded the Babe Ruth 16-18-year-old Southwest Regional for next season.
The league was supposed to have the tournament this summer, but Babe Ruth officials weren't optimistic there would be a tournament trail this season, Williamson said.
"So they are giving us the same regional for next season," he said.
Sports on 05/03/2020