March 23, 2020
SJSA Families -
For more than 50 years the South Jeffco Sports Association (SJSA) has brought our community together through youth sports. We know it has been a trying time and our hearts go out to everyone affected by the Coronavirus, Covid-19, Pandemic. As the Covid-19 issue remains ever changing, the health and well-being of our families has remained our top priority.
FAQ’s
When will you start the season (Baseball, Minors, Softball, Boys Lacrosse and Girls Lacrosse)?
We are currently following all state and local guidelines including Jeffco Schools and CHSAA, which has delayed their seasons until April 18th, 2020. We cannot predict what is going to happen in the coming weeks and we think it is irresponsible to attempt to predict what will happen. We can assure you this - it is our intention to have a season….we just don’t know when we will be given the all clear to begin.
Why not just cancel?
There are several reasons not to cancel:
- We believe that when this situation ends it will be critical for our kids, coaches and parents, but especially the kids, to return to some form of normalcy. This Covid-19 pandemic has been and continues to be traumatic for some. We are a strong community that thrives on outdoor time and sports and we will need this season together to heal and recover as a community.
- Keeping the seasons will help our local small businesses, sports clubs and officials. End-of-season parties (at local establishments), part-time officials, and youth sports organizations are a critical part of a strong community. Now is the time to stand together and make sure we stay strong!
- Cancelling puts all non-profit youth sports organizations at risk of not being able to offer all of the services we have had in the past and in some cases, shutting the doors of youth sports organizations permanently.
Can I get a refund?
At this time, NO clubs in the AYL (Arapahoe Youth League, governing league to some SJSA sports) and NO sports within SJSA will be offering refunds. There are a couple reasons for this.
- We have already spent most of your registration fees on non-recoverable expenses including: insurance, field permits, training, sports equipment, uniforms, scheduling, etc.
- Our full intention is that we WILL have a season….it will just start late and may look different than usual.
What will that season look like?
Every idea is on the table. Through our area leagues and within our individual sports we have a lot of creative, smart people working to ensure we have solutions to every scenario. We cannot know what is going to happen over the next few weeks and thus cannot predict the solution we will use. It will be different for each sport; i.e., condensed season, more double headers, tournament play every weekend, using practice times for games….there are a lot more ideas and we will let you know what we decide as soon as we can.
We know this is a time where kids and families are anxious or even scared and worried about the future. We understand as we all have families and concerns, too. We want nothing more than to get our kids and families back together and feel “normal” at the fields, gyms or baseball diamonds for some fun, exercise and great competition with the community we love.
On behalf of the entire SJSA Board of Directors, we want to thank you for putting your trust in us and we appreciate the support for your local community-based, non-profit youth sports organization. We are committed to working through these challenging circumstances together.
Wishing you all good health -
The Executive Board and Board of Directors of South Jeffco Sports Association
