We would like to take an opportunity to provide an update to our players and families on the status of our Fall skill clinics, Hoopsters programs, and the Metrowest Travel Basketball program. There is a great deal of uncertainty on multiple fronts that impact the planning and execution of our programs. While we are hopeful that we will have basketball activities in 2020 as usual, we are unsure if and when they may happen. For any programming that we offer, player and family safety will be of the utmost importance.
Basketball is considered a high-risk sport by the state of Massachusetts. While no specific guidelines have been put forth for basketball, the state has restricted activities in high-risk sports to only include skill-based work that requires social distancing constraints. It is notable that the high-risk high school sports typically played in the fall season have been moved to early Spring, and other sports are being played this fall with significant modifications.
In addition to awaiting further state guidelines, our biggest challenge in planning basketball activities is the availability of gym space. The Natick Public Schools, Natick Community Center and other private schools are unable to commit to renting gym space in the foreseeable future. In a typical season with skill clinics, 26+ travel teams and multiple Hoopsters programs we use an incredible amount of gym time for practices and games. The lack of available gym time is a considerable limitation on our ability to offer programming.
The Metrowest League organizers have let us know that they plan to provide an update on the potential for a travel basketball season by the end of September. We have decided to postpone travel basketball tryouts until we know more about the status of the Metrowest season. We have also decided to postpone fall skill clinics and fall Hoopsters until we see how school reopening impacts the community, and potentially our ability to rent gym time.
We plan to continue to follow new developments over the coming weeks and will provide a further update in early October.