Governor Roy Cooper’s announcement Wednesday that the Safer at Home Phase 2 program would be extended for an additional three weeks may be the final blow to any hope of playing Dixie Youth Baseball in 2020. Phase 2 had been slated to expire Friday.
“We will probably find out a decision from the town (of Elizabethtown) next week about the use of the fields,” said DYB District 9 Director Carl Newkirk. “Even if we are allowed to use the fields, I don’t have any idea if we can get enough volunteers to help with the social distancing and sanitizing of equipment and dugouts that will be required to play.”
District 9 members Red Springs and West Robeson have already cancelled their 2020 DYB seasons while Elizabethtown and Lumberton have adopted a wait-and-see philosophy. District 2 members Whiteville and Riegelwood have also cancelled their seasons.
North Carolina Dixie Youth has not cancelled their state tournaments yet. “If we can get enough teams to play, there are still plans for state tournaments,” said Newkirk. “But that was before this extension was announced.”
The Dixie Youth Baseball World Series was cancelled back in May.
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