The Latest: USA Curling halts events for at least 6 months

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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USA Curling has decided to cancel or postpone all remaining events this season until at least May, meaning the reigning national champions in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles will represent the United States at the 2021 world championships.

The national governing body said Thursday that it hopes to hold the national championships in all three disciplines in a bubble in May. But because that will be after the world championships, the 2020 winners would get the U.S. berths -- if the tournaments are held.

The teams did not get a chance to compete at the 2020 worlds, which were canceled due to COVID-19.

The team skipped by John Shuster that won the gold medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics will represent the U.S. in men’s curling. The team led by Tabitha Peterson will represent the U.S. in women’s curling, and the team of Peterson and Joe Polo will compete in mixed doubles.

The U.S. senior national championships have been canceled. The club championships and under-18 and -21 competitions are still planned for an undetermined date.

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The U.S. long track national speedskating championships scheduled for this weekend in Utah have been called off.

U.S. Speedskating executive director Ted Morris said Thursday the meet at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns will be rescheduled. The postponement is in response to results from COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

The meet was to serve as the selection process for a potential World Cup team in case a World Cup series hosted by the International Skating Union is held in January.

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The University at Albany men’s and women’s basketball programs are on a temporary pause from team activities due to presumptive positive tests among individuals associated with both programs’ Tier 1 group.

Tier 1 individuals include coaches, athletes, team managers, athletic trainers, and support staff. They are tested three times a week in accordance with NCAA protocols.

Further testing and contact tracing are being conducted to determine the length of the pause and whether any additional measures are necessary.

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A positive COVID-19 test has caused Boston University's men’s hockey team to pause all athletic activities and the school has canceled Saturday’s game at Connecticut.

According a statement from the school, the positive test was from a member of the team’s Tier 1 personnel, which includes coaches, athletes, and support staff. Tier 1 personnel are tested three times a week in accordance with NCAA, Hockey East, and university protocols.

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