State of Texas suspends and reschedules all athletics because of swine flu

April 29, 12:32 PMNFL ExaminerReid Kerr

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Although it's not directly NFL-related, it's still pretty big news in my area. The state of Texas is putting a hold on all of their athletic competitions due to concerns over the swine flu outbreak.

The decision was made after consultation with the Texas Department of State Health Services. In addition to the obvious health concerns, another factor may be the closing of more than fifty schools in Texas, and the competitive advantage that might give some schools.

According to the UIL website, and their press release:

AUSTIN, TX— On the recommendation of Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, and in consultation with Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott, the University Interscholastic League is altering its schedule of  events due to the outbreak of the swine flu in Texas. Effective immediately, all UIL interscholastic competition is suspended until May 11. 

“The health and safety of our student activity participants is of the utmost importance,” said  UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt.  “Taking every possible precaution to prevent the further spreading of this disease is an important contribution to the welfare of our great state, and altering the schedule of our events is a way to keep our participants safe.”

As this is a fluid situation, the UIL tentatively releases the following schedule for UIL
regional and state events affected by this situation.

Academic State Meet
The UIL Academic State Meet, originally scheduled for May 7-9, will be rescheduled at a
later date.  The Conference 4A and 5A One-Act Play competition will continue as
previously scheduled on May 15-16. All other conferences competing in One-Act Play will
be rescheduled. A schedule of the Academic State Meet, including One-Act Play, will be
posted on the UIL web site once finalized.

Texas State Wind Ensemble Festival
The Texas State Wind Ensemble Festival, originally scheduled for May 9, has been
cancelled.  The UIL staff will consult with the 16 participating schools to determine
whether or not to reschedule the event at a later date.

Regional Track Meets
All UIL regional track meets originally scheduled for this weekend, May 1-2, have been
cancelled.  The state track and field meet will be extended to a three-day format to include
semifinal heats.  The meet is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May
14-16.

Semifinal qualifiers will be based on the district track meet results.  Each region will be
represented at the state meet by the top four performances in each event for all conferences. 
Hand-held times will be converted to fully automatic times as defined by the National
Federation of State High School Association rules.  A revised track and field state meet
schedule will be posted on the UIL web site no later than Friday, May 1.  Qualifiers to the
UIL state track and field meet will be posted on the UIL web site on Wednesday, May 6.

Golf State Tournament
The UIL golf state tournament will take place at the previously scheduled times beginning
May 11.

Tennis State Tournament
The UIL tennis state tournament will take place at the previously scheduled times beginning
May 11.

Baseball and Softball
No interschool games will take place until May 11 for either softball or baseball.  Below is
an altered playoff schedule for both sports.

This information is all from the UIL's official website, and is presumably open to change in the next two weeks as the Swine Flu outbreak takes shape. It's conceivable if schools continue to shut down for fear of spreading the virus, the UIl could extend the postponement.