HAMLET — The start of the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference playoffs are being put on hold.
Richmond County Schools public information officer Jasmine Hager announced just short of 11:30 a.m. on Thursday via a phone call, that all district students, faculty and staff will be dismissed at 1 p.m.
Per a Facebook post to the district’s page, “Based on the information from the North Carolina National Weather Service, Richmond County is under a tornado watch until 5 p.m. that will bring a high possibility of high winds, heavy thunderstorms and increased chances of flooding.
“We will dismiss today at 1 p.m. to allow our students and staff to arrive home safely,” the post continued. “This also includes our REaCH students.”
The early dismissal also brings with it the cancellation of all after-school activities, including athletics.
Hager’s phone call added that, “The safety of our staff and students is our top priority.”
Richmond Senior High School didn’t have any sporting events planned for Thursday, but all winter sports practices, along with spring sports workouts, have been cancelled.
The threat of severe weather also pushed the start of the middle school basketball playoffs back until the start of next week.
The No. 1 Lady Rockets and No. 2 Rockets of Rockingham won’t be impacted, as they received first-round byes, but will play later than anticipated.
However, the Hamlet boys’ and girls’ teams, and the Cordova boys’ team, will play their opening-round games next week.
Per Cordova coach Gerald Ratliff, the No. 3 Cavaliers (6-2) will host No. 6 Carver (4-5) on Tuesday at 4:15. The Cavs will also makeup a regular season game against Anson on Monday, a game that doesn’t impact the current playoffs bracket, win or lose.
Hamlet boys’ coach Keith Parsons said a makeup date and time for the No. 4 Red Rams’ (6-3) game against No. 5 Sandy Grove (5-4) hasn’t been announced.
The same is true for the No. 3 Lady Red Rams (7-2) and their game against No. 6 East Hoke (4-5).
ROSports will update this information as it’s provided by coaches and athletic directors.
