RENTON, Wash. – In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced Thursday that it will postpone the upcoming State Drama Festival and State Dance/Drill Championships until further notice. The State Drama festival was scheduled to take place March 19-21 at Western Washington University, while the State Dance/Drill Championships were to be held at the Yakima SunDome, March 27-28. This follows the announcement on March 7 that the WIAA State Individual Events Tournament and the State Debate Tournament would be postponed.
WIAA Staff has been working diligently with the Washington State Department of Health over the past several weeks and has used the guidance of experts in the health community to determine the best course of action regarding state championship events. Following the address of Governor Inslee on Wednesday, and the closing of numerous school districts around the state, the decision to postpone these events was made to ensure the safety of WIAA student-participants and their families.
With the WIAA spring sports season officially beginning on March 2, any regular season contests or practices are held at the discretion of each member school and school district. The Washington State Solo & Ensemble Contests (April 24-25) along with WIAA spring sports championships (May 23-30) are to remain as scheduled, however staff will continue to work with the Department of Health over the coming months to determine if any changes are necessary.
Update: March 12 - 3:55 p.m.
Due to the closing of numerous schools around the state until the end of April, and with the safety of student-participants and their families in mind, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and the Washington Music Educators Association have made the decision to postpone the State Solo and Ensemble Contests until further notice. The event was scheduled to be held April 24-25 at Central Washington University.
The WIAA and WMEA are looking at potential rescheduling options for a later date and will keep membership apprised of information as it becomes available.