The University Interscholastic League has announced that all high school athletics and academic competitions have been postponed until at least May 11 due to the spreading swine flu.
The flu claimed its first United States victim in Houston this week.
UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt said the health and safety of student activity participants is the primary consideration of the UIL and schools.
“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,” Breithaupt said in making the announcement.
Following the cancellation by the UIL, the Southwest Preparatory Conference, the athletic/extracurricular league for private schools, cancelled all SPC events for tomorrow, April 30 and Friday, May 1.
The UIL has released the following tentative schedule for 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.
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. A new playoff schedule will be announced.
