Thursday, October 1, 2026
It’s game over for public high school spring sports on Long Island for 2020.
Any hopes for even a modified season were dashed Tuesday afternoon when health and safety concerns led athletic administrators and school superintendents in Nassau and Suffolk counties to announced the cancelation of the spring sports season.
The Section VIII athletics conference governs Nassau County, and Section XI, Suffolk County.
“For the safety for our student athletes, Section VIII has made the difficult decision to cancel spring sports for our high schools and middle schools.” said Pat Pizzarelli, Nassau County executive director. “Long Island is one of the areas most affected by this terrible pandemic, so both section VIII and Section XI have made this very difficult decision.”
Administrators in both counties met over the past 24 hours and thought it was important to react sooner as opposed to later. Even if public school buildings reopen, no sporting events will be held.
“While our student-athletes are, of course, deeply saddened by the cancellation of the spring sports season, we all also understand that the decision was made by Section VIII Nassau County Athletics with everyone’s health and best interests in mind,” said Peter Cardone, the director of health, P.E. and athletics for Glen Cove City School District.
Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended New York state’s stay-at-home policies through May 15, meaning that school buildings will be closed until at least that date.
“It’s very sad for the seniors, but we are dealing with life and death,” Pizzarelli said. “We have to safeguard our students and communities. We waited as long as we possibly could to make this heartbreaking decision.”
Brianna Malvino, a junior at Glen Cove High School who plays softball, said that she understands why the decision was made.
“Something my coach said to us…‘it’s just a game, but a lot of people can get sick and die,” Malvino said. “It’s a very serious matter. You don’t want to take a risk and have something bad happen.”
However, Malvino is disappointed to lose her season. She played varsity for both her freshman and sophomore year and because she wants to play softball in college, her junior year was supposed to be a big year.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Malvino said. “I had a little hope that if we did go back, we could have a decreased season . . . like a modified season with maybe 10 games.”
Malvino is looking forward to her senior year to play softball. But it’s a different story for students who are seniors, especially those who will not be involved with a sport in college.
“They have all posted that they’re having a hard time about it,” Malvino said. “For those who aren’t playing in college, their last year is canceled, so they don’t know how they feel about it.”
Nassau County’s Athletic Council, which includes superintendents, principals and officials, met Monday night and was unanimous in its decision. Athletic directors who met on Tuesday agreed.
Along with softball, Malvino is involved with Glen Cove High School Select Chorale. And because of the pandemic, she lost a weekend trip to Myrtle Beach with her group, along with a performance at the Lincoln Center.
“That’s something we were looking forward to,” Malvino said. “Everyone was pretty sad when they got canceled.”
