Beverly Cancels Little League Season

BEVERLY, MA — The board of directors of Beverly little League voted to cancel the 2020 season Thursday.

"The Board’s final decision to cancel this season was hard and is disappointing because the goal was to play," the league said in a message to families Friday. "Ultimately, this is the responsible result under the current circumstances after the Board carefully and deliberately considered and weighed of all the various factors and interests."

While some other area Little Leagues have opted to run seasons or seasons for certain age groups after the state moved to the third phase of its four-phase coronavirus reopening plan, Beverly had held off on a final decision until it could collect feedback from parents, players and volunteers.

Little League International, the sport's governing body, has waived its residency requirement for players whose home season was canceled, meaning Beverly players whose seasons were canceled can join a league in a neighboring town. Salem Little League is offering some of its leagues this year.

Beverly Little League said it will process refunds in the "coming weeks."

Dave Copeland covers Beverly and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).