Joanna Hall of E.J. King High School tries to dribble between McKenzie Steele, left, and Priscilla Ramirez of Matthew C. Perry during a tournament at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Feb. 28, 2025. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Student-athletes at Department of Defense Education Activity schools in the Pacific resumed travel Thursday for spring season away games after a brief funding freeze.
Some DODEA-Europe events have been rescheduled, though it remained unclear whether others would proceed as planned. Officials there announced Wednesday that most competitions for the weekend had been canceled, only to announce hours later that they were reviewing the decision.
“We have received updated guidance from DODEA headquarters that we may now proceed with student and staff travel for athletics,” DODEA-Pacific chief of staff Todd Schlitz wrote in an email to staff members obtained by Stars and Stripes.
Schlitz’s email did not specify whether weekend competitions would take place as scheduled. It stated that DODEA leadership had granted an exception allowing students and coaches to travel for contests in their respective districts.
Hundreds of high school soccer, track, softball and baseball competitions across both regions were at stake. The spring sports seasons, many just beginning, are scheduled to conclude with championships May 19-23.
In Europe, DODEA officials did not release any new information on rescheduling as of late Thursday.
However, a track meet originally set for 14 teams beginning Saturday is now scheduled for noon Friday at Kaiserslautern High School in Germany, according to a school Facebook post, which did not specify which teams would be there.
Kaiserslautern’s soccer team will head to Stuttgart on Friday for a 2 p.m. kickoff, and its baseball and softball teams will host nearby Ramstein at 2 p.m. Friday. All of those games were originally scheduled for Saturday.
DODEA had initially canceled all extracurricular activities involving extensive travel following a Feb. 26 executive order by President Donald Trump. It restricted government-funded travel to essential military operations and permanent changes of station.
Schlitz’s email did not explain what prompted the policy reversal that allowed DODEA travel to resume.
However, another challenge looms as Congress considers a continuing resolution to fund the government beyond Thursday. Without its passage and Trump’s signature, all nonessential government spending — including “all afterschool athletics, activities, and extracurricular trips,” according to Schlitz’s email — will be suspended.
The funding uncertainty is particularly significant for DODEA-Pacific schools in Japan, where teams frequently travel long distances. E.J. King High School at Sasebo Naval Base, for example, must travel more than 700 miles to compete against DODEA teams in the Tokyo area.
Stars and Stripes reporter Jennifer H. Svan contributed to this report.
