On April 17, UIL canceled all of spring activities and state championships. This cancellation came along with Governor Greg Abbott’s state announcement that schools will remain closed throughout the year.
“UIL Academics means everything in Lindale,” UIL academic coordinator Rory McKenzie said. “For so many of our kids, this is ‘their thing’. It’s their shot to compete against others in academic battles. The fact that they’re missing out is heartbreaking.”
The closure of UIL events came due to the outbreak of coronavirus that has closed schools across the state of Texas and the continued battle to keep people safe from the virus.
“Our staff had been working hard on plans to resume activities this spring, but without schools in session, interscholastic activities cannot continue,” UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt said. “Our highest priority during this challenging time is ensuring the health and safety of our students and communities and making progress in the containment of COVID-19 in Texas. We are now turning our attention to the 2020-2021 school year.”
Many of Lindale’s teams were confident that they’d be able to compete at the state level this year, but now they will not have the chance.
“Well, we had already qualified a CX team to state that didn’t get to compete. We also didn’t get to have UIL Academic district for our academic events,” McKenzie said. “We did have a few announcements come through about virtual qualifications (to theatrical design and the essay contest) so that’s exciting. Our OAP also had to end its season after being named district champions.”
Lindale has been participating in UIL since the 1930s with the first state championship in CX. Since then, the only other time Lindale has not participated in UIL was during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009.
“With us going to 4A, we will have a new district and conference. We are excited about it,” McKenzie said. “There are a lot of unknowns right now, but by all accounts, we will be back and ready to compete for state championships.”
