Assistant Editor Jerry Lindsey wrote this article.
The long-awaited decision to allow athletic competition in the Northwest Illinois Region was authorized by Governor J. B. Pritzker on Monday, January 25, 2021. Reduction in the Tier ranking opened the option for schools within the Illinois High School Association to begin practice, with beginning game dates placed on the near horizon. Following a Special Board of Directors Meeting of the IHSA on Wednesday, January 27, 25 sports were given the go-forward options. Seven sports were allowed to practice immediately.
Boys/Girls Basketball, Boys Swimming and Diving, Dance, Cheerleading, Boys/Girls Bowling, Girls Gymnastics, and Badminton were all given permission to begin practice immediately. Scheduled competition will be allowed after seven practice dates have been completed. All seven sports will end on March 13, without the usual culmination of action in a State Series Final. Dance and Cheerleading will be offered a final virtual State Competition in early March.
Boys Soccer will have a season beginning March 1 and ending on April 17, without a State Final.
Football, an Illinois Department of Public Health high-risk activity, may begin practice on March 3, with games authorized between March 19 and April 24, without a State Final competition.
Girls Volleyball, a moderate-risk activity, may begin practice on March 8 and hold match competition after seven practice dates, with a season finality date of April 24. Volleyball will not be offered a final State Series.
Other sports scheduled for competition in Northwest Illinois (Baseball, Softball, Track and Field) may begin their seven required practices on Monday, April 5, and compete in a season ending on June 19. State Finals for sports typically played in the spring remain in limbo. The IHSA board left those options open for further discussion.
On April 19 wrestlers may take to the mats for a mandatory seven practices, before opening a season that will continue until June 12. Wrestling’s annual gathering of talents for the exciting State Finals will not be scheduled in 2021.
The transition of athletes competing in multiple sports will carry athletic challenges. IHSA Board published the following to address that concern.
“With the exception of Football, which requires individuals to participate in practice on 12 different days, all sports will be required to hold practice on seven different days prior to holding a contest. Holding multiple practices on a date does not impact that timeline. If student-athletes transition from Basketball or Boys Swimming and Diving into Football, they will need to participate in practice on ten different days, prior to their first contest. Winter sport contests could begin as early as [Monday, January 25], dependent on when a school’s Region reached the appropriate mitigation status, and when they began practices.”
Due to the adjustment of sports season, IHSA’s newly assigned Basketball season may interfere with planned participation on non-school basketball teams. [IHSA] ruled that athletes must cease non-school participation within seven days of their first scheduled high school game.
IHSA guidelines require all student-athletes to participate in masks (with the exception of Swimming and Diving, Gymnasts on an apparatus, and outdoor events where social distancing can occur) and for all game personnel not participating in the contest to also wear masks and adhere to social distancing.
Comments from the IHSA administration culminated with the statement….”[Board members] were conscientious in considering every possibility, and I believe their decisions today are a positive step for the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of our students. We are excited to channel our energy into creating as many positive experiences for Illinois High School students as we can, between now and the end of this extraordinary school year.”