The governing body announced that all provincial championships had been officially cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were holding out hope, however, seeing that we have not even been given a date for Phase 4 to open, it was not fair to our current and future host sites to plan adequately,” Baseball Sask said in a press release. Provincials traditionally take place in late July and early August.
“We also carry the responsibility to look out for the health and safety of our members. Provincial championships bring with them mass gatherings from different teams from all over Saskatchewan. We cannot estimate what the allowable outdoor maximum gathering limit will be for late August. Due to this, we cannot guarantee that our championships would even be approved by the Government of Saskatchewan at that time.”
Phase 4 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan – which would see re-opening of indoor and outdoor recreation facilities and increasing the size of indoor public and private gatherings to 30 people – has not been announced, with Phase 3 having officially taken hold as of June 8.
Plans have not changed when it comes to potentially playing locally if and when Phase 4 occurs, with Baseball Sask using that as a factor in making the decision: with no set date for a start-up, jamming in a schedule in order to accommodate a provincial tournament deadline did not seem feasible.
“In conclusion, we realize that there are members who will be very disappointed with this decision and we fully understand that. We appreciate your love and dedication to our great game. Unfortunately, with so many unknowns in such a fluid situation, we have made this difficult decision.”
