The COBA Major Baseball League, in conjunction with the announcement made by Baseball Ontario, have made the decision to cancel all league games until May 31st, 2020 inclusive. The league is currently working on a contingency plan to make a new league schedule starting on June 1st, 2020. The schedule will include a 21-game regular season for all eight teams as well as a playoff tournament in August.
On Thursday, Baseball Canada made the tough announcment that all 2020 Baseball Canada National Championships have been postponed because of the COVID-19 virus. This decision was not made lightly by the board of directors and they will look forward to getting back to action in 2021. The full press release from Baseball Canada can be found below
Towards the end of the month, the COBA Major Baseball League will re-assess the season based on the recommendations from Canada's public health directors, Baseball Canada and Baseball Ontario how to move forward.
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OTTAWA- Today, Baseball Canada’s Board of Directors along with the Executive Committee made the difficult decision to cancel all 2020 Baseball Canada National Championships due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 11 scheduled national tournaments were set to take place primarily during the month of August beginning with the Baseball Canada Cup in Fort McMurray, Alberta from August 5-9 and concluding with the 13U National Atlantic Championships from September 17-20 in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
A complete list of the National Championships can be found here. The health and safety of the numerous individuals involved in a national championship events, including athletes, coaches, officials, tournament organizers, volunteers and fans was the main priority in arriving at this difficult decision.
“After extensive discussions and careful consideration among our executive committee and board of directors, we arrived at the decision to cancel all of our 2020 national championships,” said Baseball Canada President Jason Dickson. “Although this decision will be disappointing to many across the Canadian baseball community, we felt it was the best decision to make given that the health and welfare of our members is paramount in these uncertain times.”
Baseball Canada would like to clearly state that this decision is not a cancellation of the baseball season in Canada. Individual provincial members will decide the course of their seasons and associated provincial tournaments on their own timelines. Baseball Canada would like to thank the 11 communities and organizations that were set to host a 2020 national championship for their cooperation and support throughout this process.
We know how much time, effort and care goes into hosting one of these events and we are thankful and appreciative to have such amazing baseball communities across the country. We will be connecting with all of you shortly to discuss future hosting opportunities.