Sports leagues across the country have begun to proactively cancel matches or suspend play to combat the spread of coronavirus, impacting teams from the professional to the prep level, including in Santa Clarita.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that gatherings of 250 people or more should be canceled statewide to help prevent community spread of coronavirus in California.

In response, sports leagues at all levels have begun to coordinate their response in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Teams at The Master’s University were informed today that the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), of which Master’s is a member, has suspended all-conference spring competition through March 25.

In addition to spring sports, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) canceled all winter championship games. That means disappointing ends for both the Master’s women’s and men’s basketball teams, which had achieved highly successful regular seasons and NAIA championship aspirations.

In addition to the cancellation of NAIA championship tournaments, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced the complete cancellation of March Madness.

While some organizations had already made their decision in regards to the coronavirus as of Thursday, others were in the process of formulating their next steps throughout the day.

The California Community College Athletic Association is expected to hold a vote today at 4 p.m. to determine whether to suspend games indefinitely, according to COC Athletic Director Chuck Lyon.

The William S. Hart Union High School District is expected to release a statement Thursday afternoon to parents with information regarding the district’s response to coronavirus and the governor’s recommendation in relation to sports.

CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS) Commissioner Rob Wigod released a statement to communicate his organization’s perspective on the matter.

He outlined that the geographic spread of the schools comprising the Southern Section makes the organization too large for a single response plan, but they will instead look to local school and districts to make the important decisions regarding school closures or postponing athletic events. The full statement is available here.

CIF State, on the other hand, went ahead and canceled the remainder of the 2020 CIF State Basketball Championships that were planned for this weekend.

The impact of coronavirus extends beyond the world prep sports into professional as well.

Both the NBA and NHL seasons have been suspended, the MLB has canceled the remainder of spring training and delayed opening day at least two weeks and the NFL canceled their annual league meeting.

KHTS Sports is your place for the 2020 Santa Clarita high school sports season and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.