- More than 600 athletes attended a college wrestling tournament in Allen, Texas, over the weekend despite concerns of the novel coronavirus.
- The National Collegiate Wrestling Association — which is not connected to the NCAA — held the tournament, with its executive director saying the precautions being made to help stop the spread of COVID-19 are "driven by fear."
- The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic last week, and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has urged people to avoid gatherings of more than 50 people.
- COVID-19 has infected more than 3,800 people across the United States, and 69 people have died.
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A college wrestling tournament was held in Texas over the weekend despite health officials' warnings over the novel coronavirus and recommendations of social distancing.
The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) — which operates outside the NCAA with teams at schools across the country — held its national championship over the weekend in Allen, Texas, featuring more than 600 athletes from colleges including Ohio State University, University of Texas at Arlington, and University of California, Los Angeles, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The tournament went on despite the NCAA's decision to cancel its Division I Wrestling Championships, among all other spring sports championships as a preventative measure as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase across the United States.
"I think a lot of this is driven by fear," NCWA executive director Jim Giunta told the Dallas Morning News of his decision to hold the tournament. "We're going to do everything in our power to create an environment that's more than safe for our athletes. But after we do everything we can do, we're going to operate on faith rather than fear."
UT- Arlington coach Collin Stroner told the Morning News that COVID-19 was "on the back burner" while the tournament went on.
Liberty University coach Jesse Castro told the Morning News that the virus was "over-hyped," and said: "I refuse to live in fear."
The US has reported more than 3,800 COVID-19 cases nationwide, and 69 deaths. There are cases in at least 49 states and Washington DC.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic last week, and President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged people on Sunday to cancel all gatherings of more than 50 people in an attempt to further social distancing measures.
According to For The Win, NCWA's tournament had three main mats that were sanitized three times a day over the weekend. Eleven of the schools scheduled to take part canceled because of the coronavirus. Still, more than 600 athletes attended from 84 different schools.
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