The Suspension

**The Suspension** is a long period of season suspension and absence of volleyball matches, which started on 5 October 2019, with brief resumption periods in early November and all of December in 2019, as well as early and mid-January in 2020, and mid- and late August in 2021.

## Instability

Due to concerns over instability, the HKSSF cancelled all matches in October 2019. Matches resumed after the month-long suspension period, but the season was suspended once more for 2 weeks from 11 November.

## Pandemic, 2019-2020

### First round (February 2020)

On 22 January 2020, the first novel coronavirus disease infection in Hong Kong was detected. As a result, on 24 January, the HKSSF announced the first round of season suspension:

* All matches in February 2020 would be cancelled
* The A-Grade would resume in 2 May 2020
* The Jing Ying Tournament would be held, if more than 16 teams got qualified, between 22 June and 19 July.
* All promotions and relegations will not be carried out if the season cannot be completed before 31 May.
* No overall trophies will be awarded if the season cannot be completed before 31 May.

#### Qualified girls' teams for Jing Ying '19

By 24 January, only 8 teams had been qualified for the girls' category of what would have been the 2019 All Hong Kong Schools Jing Ying Volleyball Tournament, all of which are from the Urban Division 1 and the Kowloon Division 2. Yuen Long was about to start its quarterfinals, while the Sha Tin Division 1 was about to start its final group stage. Tai Po and Tuen Mun were about to start their Round of 12 knockout stage, while Areas 1 and 2 of the Kowloon Division 3 were about to start their Round of 14 knockout stage.

Out of all divisions that have not finished their group stages, the Hong Kong Island Division 2 has finished 36 out of 54 matches, the Kwai Tsing Division 1 has finished 8 out of 12, and Tsuen Wan has finished 4 out of 15.

#### Qualified boys' teams for Jing Ying '19

By 24 January, only 6 teams had been qualified for the boys' category of what would have been the 2019 All Hong Kong Schools Jing Ying Volleyball Tournament, all of which are from the Urban Division 1. Yuen Long had finished 2 of its 4 quarterfinals, and the Hong Kong Island Division 2 as well as Tuen Mun were about to start its quarterfinals. Tai Po was about to start its Round of 10 knockout stage.

Out of all divisions that have not finished their group stages, the Kowloon Division 2 has finished 52 out of 54 matches, the Sha Tin Division 1 has finished 10 out of 12 matches, Tsuen Wan has finished 3 out of 12 and Kwai Tsing has finished 4 out of 24.

### Further rounds (March to May 2020)

On 13 February, the HKSSF cancelled all matches from 1 March to 19 April. On 3 March, the HKSSF cancelled all remaining matches of the 2019-2020 season.

### Unsuccessful resumption (June to August 2020)

Main article: 2020 CYT Cup
On 29 June, the 2020 CYT Cup was planned to be held from 19 July to 23 August, but the cup was cancelled on 11 July due to the start of the third wave of infections.

### First round (September to October 2020)

On 18 August, the HKSSF delayed the season start date to 1 November.

### Second round (November to December 2020)

On 12 October 2020, the HKSSF delayed the season start date to 16 January 2021 for the Urban Region and 20 February 2021 for the New Territories.

### Third round (January to Lunar New Year 2021)

On 30 November 2020, due to the fourth wave of the pandemic, the season start date for the Urban Region was delayed to 20 February 2021.

### Fourth round (Lunar New Year to mid-April 2021)

On 21 January 2021, due to extended school suspension, the season start date was further delayed to 12 April. It was also decided that New Territories matches would have played in open grade.

### Fifth round (mid-April to May 2021)

On 31 March 2021, the HKSSF permanently cancelled the 2020-2021 season with the exception of a few events, namely the individual Jing Ying Badminton and Table Tennis Tournaments, as well as the Urban and New Territories Archery and Bowling competitions. The former competitions were held in late May, while the latter events were held in early July. All of the above competitions were held behind closed doors.

## Summer Resumption, 2021

Main article: 2021 VBAHK Youth Cup
The 2021 VBAHK Youth Cup was held in August 2021. It was the first volleyball competition involving schools since 1 year and 9 months. It was not played behind closed doors, as healthy spectators who had worn masks and disinfected their hands were welcome.

## Pandemic, 2021-2022

### Fall term (September to December, 2021)

The HKSSF only resumed table tennis and badminton events, while not a tentative date for the resumption of the volleyball season is given throughout the whole fall.

### Spring term (January 2022 to present)

Due to the rapid spreading of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, strict anti-pandemic restrictions are enforced, and all sporting events in the city are cancelled until further notice.