West Virginia Supreme Court Allows Soccer Tournament After Legal Fight
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday morning to allow a high school soccer tournament to kick off after a lower court had temporarily halted it over coronavirus spread.
Shortly after, the Secondary School Activities Commission tweeted a picture of teams lining up to play.
AAA boys' soccer teams being introduced. pic.twitter.com/cbM3SFduUV
— WVSSAC (@wvssac) November 6, 2020
The commission said in its appeal petition Thursday that a Berkeley County circuit judge lacked jurisdiction in the case.
The judge ruled in favor of Martinsburg High School soccer player Emily Beck. She sought to delay the Class AAA tournament, scheduled to start Friday in Beckley.
Berkeley County high school soccer teams were unable to compete in sectional play because the county's rate of coronavirus cases prohibited athletic contests from being played. Instead, boys and girls teams from nearby Jefferson County advanced to the state tournament.
Beck's petition had said Berkeley athletes were denied equal protection under the law because they did not have access to free virus testing given to other counties.
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