This just in from YNEW Tourney

“I’m writing to share some unfortunate news: the 2020 Youth New England Wrestling (YNEW) Championships are being CANCELLED, due to overwhelming concerns about the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Our host, St. John’s Prep, has made this difficult decision while prioritizing the health and wellbeing of their students, staff, and faculty, as well as the larger community to which we all belong. Given the unprecedented health concerns around this virus outbreak, we simply cannot take the chance of spreading COVID-19 to any of our wrestlers, our families, or our friends.

It’s heartbreaking to realize that our valiant young wrestlers will be so disappointed to learn that they will not have the opportunity to compete this weekend. It is particularly poignant knowing that this will not be the inaugural year for a Girl’s Competition at the Youth New Englands.

We’ve talked to our partner hotels (Best Western and Hampton Inn), and they have confirmed that, in order to avoid charges, room reservations should be cancelled by Wednesday March 11. The tournament directors are currently working to identify the tournament’s fixed costs that cannot be recovered, in order to determine what portion of the registration fee can be returned to you. At this time, we’re considering a couple of options, including a partial reimbursement in the next month or a full credit towards next year’s tournament. Another potential option: you choose to donate your reimbursement to the New England Pride Scholarship Fund.

We have applications from seven (7) very impressive candidates who submitted for this year’s NE Pride Scholarships. Although we won’t be able to present those scholarships during the tournament, we can still show our support for these proud members of the New England wrestling community.

Speaking of our wrestling community, I will make a prediction: together, we will respond to this setback like true wrestlers. Together, we will start planning and training for YNEW 2021, and together, we will make next year’s Youth New Englands the best one yet !

We will be in touch via email in the coming days with more information about reimbursement. Please take care of each other during this stressful time."