Legion cancels regional, national tourneys

By rbrown
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Updated: April 7, 2020

American Legion Baseball announced Tuesday that it has cancelled its eight regional tournaments as well as its national tournament for the 2020 season. The New England Junior Regional tournament has also been cancelled.

NOTE: The New Hampshire regular season and state tournament for both Junior Legion and Senior Legion have not been cancelled.

The legion press release:

“With the unpredictability of the current worldwide COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the manner in which the virus spreads, its duration and the resulting public health regulations and restrictions across the nation, The American Legion is facing an improbable situation. The Americanism Commission, in consultation with National Commander James William “Bill” Oxford, announces cancellation of all 2020 American Legion Baseball national tournaments, inclusive of all eight 2020 Regional Tournaments and the 2020 American Legion World Series. Questions regarding regular season play within your department should be directed to your department baseball committee chairman. The awarding of American Legion Baseball scholarships for 2020 have also been completely suspended.

“The decision to cancel was extremely difficult but deemed necessary, first and foremost in the interest of health and safety, and in the face of uncertainty. As Americanism Commission Richard Anderson noted, “These times are unparalleled. And while it is distressing to think of all those youth across the nation who are disappointed to learn of the cancellation of American Legion programs this year, it would be a much, much greater tragedy if even just one of those youth were to fall ill during a program. The Americanism Commission feels this is the right thing to do.”