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MPA Cancels Maine Cross Country ChampionshipsPublished by
State Cross Country Championships Nixed In Maine By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor The Maine Principals' Association, which governs high school sports in the state, made the decision Monday to cancel the state championship cross country meet that was scheduled to begin Wednesday. A statement posted to the MPA Web site says that state health officials were consulted prior to making the decision. Compounding the problem was a statewide mask mandate that went into affect last Friday that would have required runners to wear masks at the state meet after not having to do so all season. State officials have pointed to a rise in new cases in Maine, which might seem quaint to people living in other places in the U.S. Falmouth coach Jorma Kurry chose to focus on the positive but called the cancellation "pretty devastating." "It was a great opportunity for us to get the teams back together and for kids to have a chance to get some normalcy after losing the entire spring season," Kurry wrote in a statement to DyeStat. "So many of our students were just looking for more of a routine and regular opportunity to work out with their friends and luckily cross country was able to provide a safe way for us to do that outdoors. It was pretty devastating to see it end so close to the state meet. For so long it seemed like we would never make it this far and then suddenly we were almost there. Then about a week before the meet the case numbers in Maine really started to shoot up rapidly and we realized it was growing unlikely. Many of the kids really expected it to be canceled and I think in many ways that they handled it better than I did. We were able to meet one last time on Monday and do a little run, which gave them some closure."
Maine ranks 50th (including D.C.) in the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases, with a total of 7,888 since the pandemic began last March. Monday's new case count was 168. The only state with fewer cases in Vermont. Here is the MPA's statement: It is with regret that the Maine Principals’ Association announces the cancellation of the 2020 State Cross Country Championships. Please know that this was not a decision that was taken lightly, but one that the leadership at the MPA felt necessary to take based on a couple of major of concerns.
We received a great deal of feedback from school administrators and coaches regarding this meet and all concerns were heard. We also know that there will be a great deal of disappointment from those scheduled to compete in this race.
History for Maine MPA Cross Country State Championships
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