By Bobby Narang
Nearly a month after Christmas, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) delivered a very belated, but pleasing gift to high school athletes.
Just when the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly was set to end some sports, in particular football and boys and girls basketball, the IHSA reversed course and January 22 opened up sports.
The IHSA move came after the shocking announcement by Illinois Department of Public Health director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said January 22 that all State regions that reach Phase 4 of the COVID-19 mitigations can play all sports, including high-risk sports.
Thus, the meant that the high-risk sports in areas that have improved from Tier 1 to Phase 4 could play games within their region and conference.
Before the announcement, football, basketball and wrestling, were deemed high-risk sports. Now, the three sports can hope that practices can start soon.
IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said most sports are a go after Illinois governor JB Pritzker basically gave the green light for all sports to start at some time.
“The most significant update today involves high-risk sports in Regions that have improved from Tier 1 to Phase 4,” Anderson said. “Schools within a Phase 4 Region can now conduct intra-conference and intra-region contests in high-risk sports. Moderate-risk sports competing outdoors in Phase 4 also received expanded scheduling opportunities, including tournaments and out-of-state contests.”
Among the positives is the immediate start of low-risk sports. All low-risk Winter sports were allowed to practice, with games allowed seven days after practices are conduct. For basketball teams, they must conduct 12 days of practice prior to their first games.
“Anticipating that low- and medium-risk sports would likely be able to return to action at some point in January or February, we have leaned on the IHSA sports medicine advisory committee to help us determine the appropriate amount of acclimatization time for these sports,” Anderson said.
Downers Grove North High School boys basketball coach James Thomas said he was startled by the unexpected dose of positive news.
“It’s unbelievable,” Thomas said. “I’ve had so many people reach out to me, from parents, past parents who still support our school, athletic directors, coaches, and friends. It puts the fire back in the belly. I didn’t see this coming.
“I think it gives everyone hope again, or that idea of hopefulness again. Last week, it was the complete opposite. I can just tell from the amount of text messages that I’ve gotten since 3:30 p.m. that there’s a little bit of positive energy.”