State basketball to continue with no spectators; essential personnel, media only

Due to coronavirus concerns, Thursday's McMinnville/Sheldon OSAA 6A Girls Basketball State Championship consolation game will be closed to supporters. The OSAA announced its decision Wednesday night following the state quarterfinals.

All games will continue as scheduled without fans.

The OSAA released the following statement -

Over the past week the OSAA has followed guidance from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and local health departments in administering our state championship events. The OSAA is committed to following the direction of Oregon’s public health authorities, including guidance from the Governor, OHA, and ODE in order to help slow the transmission of the coronavirus.

With today’s rapidly changing situation, and in consultation with these groups, the OSAA has made the difficult decision to change its spectator policies for state championship events. Beginning Thursday morning, March 12, per guidance from the OHA and the Governor, only participating students and coaches, essential event staff personnel and media with OSAA-issued credentials will be allowed to attend OSAA State Championship events.

"This difficult decision has not been made lightly,” said Peter Weber, OSAA Executive Director. “Going into this week we knew the situation was rapidly evolving and as the circumstances and guidance have changed throughout today, our focus is on trying to honor the commitment students have made throughout the season by continuing the contests, albeit without spectators.”

Fans will be able to watch all games from each state championship site this week via the NFHS Network at www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/osaa . Additionally, all games will have free streaming audio via the OSAA Radio Network at www.osaa.org/radio-network . Live game stats will also be available through the OSAA website.

OSAA Staff is communicating directly with the participating schools with instructions and further details.

We will be working with each of our venues and partners to communicate directly to fans about refunds for tickets already purchased.

The OSAA will continue to monitor this situation closely and provide updates as necessary.