By Bobby Narang
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) made headlines, again.
Monday, Aug. 24, after the Fall season started in many sports, the IHSA Board of directors held a virtual meeting which led to an approval of a modified postseason State series for boys and girls cross country, boys and girls golf, girls swimming and diving, and girls tennis.
Instead of the traditional season with a State series in each of the sports, the new Fall season will feature a single round of regional geographic competition.
The competition will be October 19-25, which comes as a surprise to numerous athletes, coaches, and athletic directors throughout the State. The shortened regular season, plus the lack of a State tournament, is another blow to State athletes who clamor to play sports with surrounding states, such as Indiana and Iowa, playing football now.
In Illinois, football was moved to a start date in February 2021.
“The health and safety of the student-athletes, their coaches, and their school communities, has been our priority from the start of the pandemic,” IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said. “Throughout the Spring and Summer, we looked for ways to re-engage student-athletes with their peers and coaches, and our membership has shared countless positive experiences from that initial return to play period. We have found similar value in being able to conduct Fall sports, and believe the participants deserve a culminating experience if we can offer it safely.”
In addition, the Board approved a $100 State series entry fee for any school that elects to enter a team or an individual in any of the Fall sports, mainly to offset the lack of ticket sales because of the coronavirus pandemic. It marks the first time since 2004-2005 that the IHSA will charge a tournament entry fee.
“An overwhelming number of school administrators supported the fees in recent surveys,” Anderson said. “Not charging entry fees has been a point of pride for the IHSA. We are humbled by the support of our member schools during this difficult time, and appreciative of their support.”
Even without a State tournament, Anderson said the Board came up with the best alternative to allow athletes to play amid a difficult time.
“It won’t be too much dissimilar from our ordinary first-round tournaments,” Anderson said. “We do plan on awarding regional or sectional champions along with an individual medalist. There would just be no advancement to a further tournament, whether it be the State finals or a sectional.”