Del-Val League decides to shut down fall sports over COVID-19 concerns

The Del-Val League, a five-school conference based in Delaware County, announced Friday that it was shutting down the fall sports season because of COVID-19 concerns.

The league includes these high schools: Chester, Academy Park, Chichester, Interboro, and Penn Wood.

“While the schools worked diligently to consider numerous pathways to find other alternatives to save the 2020 fall season, no satisfactory plan materialized,” the league said in a statement. “Our concerns for overall safety aligns the schools in the Del Val League with other Pennsylvania universities and colleges who have decided to make similar COVID-19 precautionary cancellation procedures.”

Fall sports affected by the decision are football, soccer, field hockey, cross-country, golf, and volleyball.

The announcement comes as PIAA officials were scheduled to meet Friday afternoon with staff from the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf, who has recommended that school-sponsored and youth recreational sports be put on hold until Jan. 1 at the earliest.

PIAA executive director Robert Lombardi said Friday that the association would issue a statement after its meeting with Wolf administration officials.

Last Friday, the PIAA announced its intention to stage fall sports, hoping to work in a collaborative way with the Wolf administration as well as the state legislature.

The Philadelphia Public League on Monday announced its plan to shut down sports until the new year.

The Del Val League statement noted that the majority of schools in the conference plan to open the year with virtual learning.

“Therefore, the most consistent and safest decision for all students, coaches, and personnel is to follow a no-contest path for athletics for the fall 2020 season as well,” the statement said. “We are committed to a safe return to competition in 2020 and will revisit athletic formulas at the end of September.

“For now, our plan is to stop any team competitions within our league and non-league games. Our hope is that this decision will help assist in the progress of creating a positive change in decreasing the number of COVID-19 cases in our area.”