The 2020 Boys HS Rugby National Championships have been canceled.

The Organization Committee notified teams via email on Saturday, March 21. Committee Member Bart Bottorff said the decision was unavoidable with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak not showing signs of slowing in time to bring life back to normal.

Bottorff, whose Penn HS team was slated to play in the tournament, said the players were disappointed, "but they understood that it's not just about your safety, but the safety of the guy next to you."

"We talk about how rugby is life, and things get tough but you deal with it. Well we have to deal with this situation across the country now."

The tournament had not deposited any of the deposit checks for the tournament, and so tore all of those up. No team is out any money unless they made flight arrangements and have to get refund from there. All hotel reservations were canceled, as well.

The tournament was slated to be held in mid-May, which was why it wasn't canceled at the same time as some other rugby events. But when USA Rugby extended its rugby ban indefinitely, it became clear that even if things got better soon, teams would not be in a position to travel and compete.

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