The All Japan High School Athletic Federation held an extraordinary board meeting online Sunday and decided to cancel the National High School Championships in summer due to the spread of new coronavirus infections. This is the first time that the inter-high competitions, held every year since 1963, have been canceled.
At the extraordinary board meeting, the directors discussed, with the advice of expert considered, the advisability of holding the athletic meets. They agreed that there are high risks of infections associated with sports events, travel and accommodations, as well as injuries and heat stroke brought about by the lack of training due to school closures. In addition, medical institutions are busy dealing with infectious diseases and may not be able to adequately deal with accidents during the games.
At an online press conference, federation President Masaharu Okada sent a message to high school students: "I am painfully aware that the high school students are so sad and have lost their goals because of the decision to cancel. But it's for the sake of making sure of safety, security, and life."
Because the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were scheduled, inter-high competitions were scheduled to be held in July and August in 21 prefectures, mainly in Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki and Saitama prefectures of the northern Kanto region.
The Yomiuri Shimbun cohosts the Summer National High School Championships.
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