CMSA suspends games and events through March 20 in response to coronavirus

The Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA) announced Thursday afternoon that all CMSA games and events are suspended until at least March 20 in response to coronavirus (COVID-19). The board of directors will re-evaluate the length of this suspension early next week.

Registration will continue for CMSA's spring/summer leagues. In the event the leagues are cancelled, appropriate refunds will be available, the organization announced.

"The magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic is not something I have personally found easy to process. Reaching out about recreational sports almost seems small in the grand scheme of things. Know that we are all here to support each other. Be well...and keep yourself well," CMSA president Matt Herek wrote in an email to its membership.

"We know that this suspension impacts all of us. It also impacts the sponsor bars we have depended on for years. If you choose to go out to a local establishment, tip well."

The CMSA board of directors will have more to say in the coming days regarding the league's next steps.

The CMSA board of directors met twice on Wednesday night "to consider a range of options for game play within the organization, up to and including the suspension of league play," he said.

"The board remains in close communication with each other as our understanding of safe social distance practices continues to evolve. The possibility of suspending all CMSA games and events for a period of time remains very real. We will evaluate new information as we receive it and move decisively in the interest of our community."

Related: Open letter about coronavirus and the LGBTQ communities