The New Mexico Activities Association suspended all extracurricular sports and activities programs at all member schools Sunday in response to several school closings brought on by probable cases of the H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known as swine flu.
The state Health Department and state Education Department closed Carlsbad High School, Deming Intermediate School, and all public schools in the Socorro and Lordsburg school districts through May 10.
According to an Association press release, the athletics suspension was done to ensure fairness for the schools that have been closed. The suspension includes all games and practices after the school day. Schools violating the suspension face a $1,000 fine and one year of probation, while coaches face suspension for the remainder of the school year.
“We wanted to work on certain things, but any adjustments or changes we wanted to make are out the window,” Española baseball coach Anthony Alarid said. “There’s nothing we can do.”
Española found out that it had made the 16-team field in the Class AAAA state baseball tournament as the 14th seed May 3. the same day the Association issued its suspension.
“If they lift the suspension Saturday, there’s a possibility of getting one practice Sunday,” Alarid said.
Española was scheduled to play Farmington in a three-game series Friday and Saturday, but will now play a single game playoff May 11 at Farmington.
The events affected by the suspension include the Class A-AA state track meet, originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, which will feature athletes from McCurdy School as well as Mesa Vista, Escalante and Dulce high schools.
“We have athletes going to the state track meet without a week of practice and it will be interesting to see what happens,” McCurdy athletic director Eric Vigil said. “Hopefully, there are no injuries because of the time off.”
Also affected are the opening-round games of the Class A-AA state baseball tournament May 5-6, in which McCurdy will compete, and the opening round of the Class AAA-AAAAA state baseball tournament May 9-10. Pojoaque and Española Valley have both earned berths in the latter tournament.
District track and field meets in Class AAA-AAAAA scheduled for Friday and Saturday are also suspended, as well as any remaining regular season softball games. The state golf tournaments will be rescheduled.
The Association may conclude the suspension May 8 and has come up with tentative dates for the rescheduled events, according to the release. The Class A-AA state track meet would be held May 13-14, while the first round of the Class A-AA baseball tournament would be May 11-12. The first round of the Class AAA-AAAAA baseball tournament would be May 11 and the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals would be held May 14-16. The semifinals and finals for Class A-AA baseball are now scheduled for May 15-16.
The Class AAAA state golf tournament would be May 12-13. The state tennis individual championships have been moved to May 14, while May 15 and 16 would be the tennis team championships.