There was a moment, frozen in time, when the cancellation of spring sports at public high schools in Hawaii was imminent.

State budget cuts across the board in the midst of a global pandemic left decision-makers with little choice.

Radford Athletic Director Kelly Sur, who already witnessed a canceled winter season, was among those who was alarmed at the possibility of a spring sports cancellation.

He reached out to Keith Amemiya, the executive director of the Central Pacific Bank Foundation. It was Amemiya, a former Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive director who spearheaded the Save Our Sports campaign in 2009 that raised $1.5 million during a recession that led to severe budget cuts.

“It’s all Keith and his cadre of people who put their words to work for our youth. A lot of talk from others, but Keith as always been there for the public schools,” Sur said. “We truly are fortunate to have Keith as a supporter.”

With donations from the CPB Foundation, the Wally Yonamine Foundation, Shane Victorino Foundation, Marcus Mariota’s Motiv8 Foundation, DeForest Buckner and the Freeman Foundation, $250,000 was raised to stave off the cancellation of spring sports.

“There’s still a lot of costs involved in the spring sports. That’s why these donations are important. We all felt strongly that we had to have a spring sports season for our athletes, especially the seniors,” Amemiya said on Wednesday.

CPB Foundation donated $100,000 while the athletes and the foundations contributed $25,000 each. Other contributors made the total $250,000.

When the first lockdown began in March of 2020, spring sports were canceled shortly after they had begun. With ensuing fall and winter sports canceled by the state, there was a sense of urgency to prevent a cancellation of a second spring season, which encompases seven sports, including baseball, softball and volleyball.

“People didn’t talk about it publicly, but behind the scenes there was a concern about money and whether there would be enough to have a spring sports season. I wanted to be proactive and start raising the money early so that the lack of money wouldn’t be an issue,” Amemiya said. “Sure enough, a lot of people stepped forward and joined the cause, and lo and behold, we have a spring sports season.”

Buckner grew up in Waianae and attended Punahou School, becoming a standout athlete in basketball and football. He went on to star at Oregon and is now an elite defensive lineman with the Indianapolis Colts. Buckner and Victorino were present via an online conference.

“Every year, we used to host a kids camp, our varsity team, go out there and help the kids with drills. It meant so much to me that I told myself, if I made it or anything like that, and I was in a position to give back, I would. Do the little things that make a difference in kids’ lives,” Buckner said.

At St. Anthony, Victorino also played multiple sports, but opted for a professional career in baseball out of high school.

“We come from the same breed,” he said of Buckner. “I come from a smaller island. I grew up with a mom who engaged her time and effort. When you get an opportunity to reach success, giving back, just like DeForest, we’re going to do it.”

The biggest of Hawaii’s public-school leagues is the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

“Without all of our money-generating sports, it would a difficult task for us to continue. We really wanted to get the spring season in,” OIA Executive Director Raymond Fujino said. “Thank you to all these foundations.”

Kaimuki baseball player Kaipo Chun was one of the speakers at the presentation.

“Last year was a difficult year to not be able to play sports. I’m excited that we can play this season and make some new memories. Because of the generosity of these foundations, we’re able to put on our jerseys and play our game,” said Chun, son of Hawaii High School Athletic Association Executive Director Chris Chun.

“In Hawaii, it seems most people are trying to get vaccinated, and the sooner we get more people vaccinated, the sooner we can resume normal activities,” said Amemiya, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year. “Hopefully, we’ll have a full-fledged fall for our student-athletes.”

“All I know is that we as adults need to do all we can to make sure that we have a complete fall sports season. At least do everything within our power to make sure that it happens. Whatever I can do to help that cause, I’ll be there.”