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The next high school sporting events in Oklahoma will be in August when the 2020-21 school year begins.

The state's department of education announced Wednesday it was closing school buildings for the remainder of the academic year, along with a multitude of other moves, including the cancellation of in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

"It's disheartening to allow those teams that have worked really hard to get to the state tournament to not have a chance to play in it," OSSAA executive director David Jackson said. "For a lot of people, that's a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment."

Spring sports include baseball, golf, slowpitch softball, soccer, tennis and track. Spring football practice and camps are also canceled.

The decision comes because of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the world. The number of cases and deaths continues to rise in the state, and schools had been postponed until at least April 6 across Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association has a teleconference board meeting Thursday to discuss a multitude of topics, including the situation with the postponement of the state basketball tournaments.