The UIL announced Friday afternoon it has suspended all athletic and academic competition, effective March 16 through March 29, due to precautions for coronavirus.

Practices may be held at the discretion of the local school district.

On Thursday, Katy ISD announced it is suspending all of its athletic events and closing campuses through March 22, meaning, if the district chooses to, Katy teams can start practicing again March 23.

“We are urging our member schools and their communities to stay vigilant and take every possible precaution to remain safe and healthy,” UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt said in a news release. “We understand there is a lot of uncertainty during this unprecedented time. Please know UIL leadership is working diligently to adjust to this rapidly evolving situation and will share updates as soon as possible.”

Because of a fluid situation, the UIL will continue to monitor coronavirus with state and local officials and make additional announcements if needed.

With the UIL’s news on Friday, changes have been made to the sports calendar.

For high school soccer, district certification for the postseason is now April 11. The playoffs are tentatively slated to start April 14, with the area round coming April 18, regional quarterfinals April 21, and the regional tournaments taking place April 24-25.

The state soccer tournament is tentatively scheduled to take place April 29-May 2.

“At the end of the day, I just want everybody to be safe and I want to do the right thing,” Tompkins girls soccer coach Jarrett Shipman said. “We’ll play whenever we can. The biggest thing is we just want to play. We feel very good about our team this year, and we’ll play whenever they tell us we can, honestly.”

Shipman’s Falcons are 17-0-1 and ranked No. 1 in Class 6A in the state. They have been to the state finals two of the last three seasons.

“Everybody worries about peaking at the right time and stuff, but at the end of the day it may be good to have some time off, too,” Shipman said. “We were getting pretty beat up towards the end. Our left centerback tore her ACL the last district game, but I don’t think the UIL will wait six months.”

District certification for the high school golf playoffs are now scheduled to take place April 14. There is no change to scheduling for the regional and state tournaments. The regional tournament will be held April 20-23 and the state tournament will be May 11-12 for the boys and May 18-19 for the girls.

There are no changes to the baseball and softball district certification for the postseason, or the start of the postseason. District certification for softball is April 28, with the playoffs beginning May 2. District certification for baseball is May 5, with the playoffs beginning May 9.

Track and field’s regional meets will still be held April 24-25, but district and area meets may now be combined to the area meet, which will be held April 18.

The District 19-6A track and field meet is scheduled to be held March 31.

Shipman admitted there is concern the rest of the spring sports season could be canceled.

“For sure, that’s been a concern from day one,” Shipman said. “I hope they don’t, but I completely understand if we’re to the point where that’s the best thing to do. I think the UIL will do everything they can to get us to play. I don’t think it will be a premature decision. I have total confidence in whatever they decide to do. I hope we get a chance to play, though.”