WORCESTER – Worcester Public Schools (WPS) has announced it has postponed all outdoor athletic events scheduled on Monday, April 8, from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM. WPS says the decision was made in accordance with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA).
Schools will dismiss students at their regular time on Monday. Coaches will communicate with families and players about rescheduled times.
The baseball game between Doherty and South, scheduled at 2:30 at Polar Park, will be rescheduled.
The 5 PM game between Worcester Tech and Shepard Hill, and the 7:30 PM game between Burncoast and North, both also at Polar Park, will be held.
The decision to postpone outdoor athletic events is due to a near-total solar eclipse which will take place between 2:15 PM and 4:45 PM on Monday. At about 3;28 PM, 90 percent of the sun is expected to be blocked.
A solar eclipse is dangerous to look directly into the sun during a solar eclipse. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), sunglasses are not safe to wear to view the sun during an eclipse, no matter how dark. Safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker and should comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
The South High Community School produced the following video to educate about the solar eclipse.
Image Credit: ESA/CESAR/Wouter van Reeven, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0, Total solar eclipse ESA425433, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
