Philadelphia School Sports Suspended Through January 2021

PHILADELPHIA — There will be no interscholastic sports through Jan. 1, 2021, according to the Philadelphia Public League.

In an email to schools across the city, the School District of Philadelphia Athletic Director James Lynch said it has suspended all interscholastic athletic programming until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Should the public health situation regarding the pandemic change and guidelines released by the Gov. Tom Wolf's office change, or are updated in a way that would allow programming to resume, the league said it may resume school sports.

>>>RELATED: PA Recommends No Youth Sports Until 2021 Due To Pandemic<<<

"Our focus in the immediate future will be on developing a robust virtual program this fall to engage our student-athletes in a meaningful way as it pertains to NCAA Eligibility, sport leadership programming, post-secondary readiness, and health and wellness programming, in addition to creating a plan to provide individualized skill building and fitness workouts when permitted to resume safely," the Lynch said."

Below is Lynch's full email to schools:

In accordance with Governor Wolf's recommendations that were made on August 6th, the Philadelphia Public League will be suspending all interscholastic athletic programming through January 1, 2021. If guidelines released by the Governor's office change, or are updated in a way that would allow programming to resume, we reserve the right to revisit our decision and provide further guidance on a safe return to play.

Our focus in the immediate future will be on developing a robust virtual program this fall to engage our student-athletes in a meaningful way as it pertains to NCAA Eligibility, sport leadership programming, post-secondary readiness, and health and wellness programming, in addition to creating a plan to provide individualized skill building and fitness workouts when permitted to resume safely.

We recognize the important role that interscholastic athletics play both on and off the field, and in the lives of our student-athletes, coaches and our school communities, but it is the health safety of those groups and their families that are paramount to our district.

We will continue working with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association in an effort to develop alternative schedules to provide a safe and healthy return to play for all our sports, when recommended to do so by the Governor's office. The Philadelphia Public League is committed to work to ensure all of our student- athletes have the opportunity to participate in their chosen sport.