On Wednesday, April 22, Henry County Parks and Recreation made the announcement that they would be cancelling their Spring 2020 sports season.

  The decision was made in consideration of the players and their families in light of developments stemming from COVID-19.

  “The spring sports season has been cancelled and that decision was made by our Parks and Rec leader, Jonathon Penn so he, and along with county management and other staff, have made a decision to cancel the season, really because of this COVID-19, to keep players and their families safe,” said Melissa Robinson, Public Information Director for Henry County Government and the Henry County Board of Commissioners.

  Robinson said that the decision to cancel the spring sports season was not made lightly.

  “These decisions are made not quickly, not frivolously. These decisions are made after a lot of careful consideration to make sure that, most importantly, our families and our kids are safe,” said Robinson.

  Henry County Parks and Recreation is continuing to follow the guidelines put into place by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other government entities to ensure the safety of the children and their families.

  “We’re following what the CDC has laid out. We are following what the Department of Public Health has advised to maintain social distance and to keep people safe, to keep the kids safe, to keep their parents safe and healthy, their grandparents, families,”said Robinson. “This is really a health crisis we’re in and so we’re trying to follow the best practices to make sure we keep people safe.”

  Sports like baseball, softball, soccer and tennis are some of the sports cancelled for this spring season, many of which involve close contact, not in keeping with social distancing requirements.

  “It’s very difficult to have youth sports and maintain social distance,” said Robinson.

  “The season for spring has been cancelled for the sports, but we haven’t made a determination on summer and fall yet,” said Robinson.