Darren Kinnard
Section618.com
As many COVID regions improved their mitigation standing in the last few days, it has opened the door for the return of some high school sports with the hopes of more in the future. It has also led to many questions, and school administrators hoped a virtual meeting called by the Illinois High School Association Tuesday afternoon would provide answers.
They did not get many, other than timelines for Low Risk winter sports.
Badminton, Bowling, Competitive Cheer, Competitive Dance, Girls Gymnastics, as well as Boys Swimming and Diving may start competition seven days after the first practice.
Prior to the meeting, the IHSA updated its COVID-19 page to show the different regions, what level they are currently at, and what that level means for sports. The big question is for regions that have reached the Phase 4 status, including Region 5. The Illinois Department of Public Health updated its Sports Safety Guidance Friday, but did not include information for regions in Phase 4.
The IHSA is still awaiting an answer from the IDPH on whether High Risk sports will be allowed to hold contests. Their direction at this point is consider Phase 4 the same as Tier 1, which means basketball teams can practice but cannot play games.
Administrators we talked to characterized the mood from the meeting as not optimistic that basketball would get the green light from the IDPH, and that football had a only a slightly better chance due to being played outdoors.
The IHSA conducted a straw poll of the administrators about whether to move basketball to a different season or to cancel. All indications are the results were roughly split. Basketball was scheduled to start in mid-November and run through February 13. Football is scheduled to start February 15 and run through May 1.
Medium Risk sports are allowed contests at the Tier 1 level. There are no Medium Risk winter sports, but Volleyball and Boys Soccer are both set to start February 15. One discussion item involved potentially moving Volleyball’s start date up, but no final decision was made.
The IHSA has a special Board of Directors meeting scheduled for next Wednesday (1/27) where the expectation is there will be a more formalized schedule for all sports for the rest of the year.