For the third time in less than a year, a major hurricane has cancelled sporting events and played havoc with schedules across the Black Belt.

The primary scheduling victim of Katrina’s onslaught is the area’s high school volleyball teams. The storm’s Monday arrival postponed Marengo Academy’s season-opening tilt against Southern Academy that afternoon, as well as Sumter Academy’s home opener against the Panthers of Marion Academy scheduled for that evening.

With schools closed across the area Tuesday, several more games were postponed including Marengo’s Longhorns traveling to Morgan Academy, Sumter’s Eagles hosting Pickens Academy, and Demopolis High’s second game of the year, a road contest against 4A rival Greensboro.

School officials were unavailable to comment or confirm any re-scheduling or cancellation decisions on the part of the schools involved.

Another Monday night cancellation was the Demopolis youth soccer league’s scheduled board meeting. While the meeting will be held Tuesday night instead, chairman Dr. Peter Keen says that the league’s tight schedule–the season is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5-means that even the one day of practice lost to the storm will enhance the possibility that the start of the season will be delayed.

One sporting event still planned to go ahead as scheduled is the University of West Alabama football game scheduled for Thursday night under the lights in Livingston. UWA sports information director Jason Hughes reported that although a lighting tower at the Tiger baseball field had been damaged, there was “no significant damage” to Tiger Stadium and that UWA will play host to Jackson, TN’s Lambuth Eagles Thursday at 7 as scheduled.