By Bobby Narang
Almost like a soccer game without a winner, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) had its long-awaited meeting with the representatives of governor JB Pritkzer and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) January 6.
But there was no winner in the most recent battle to restart high school sports in Illinois. The coronavirus pandemic caused governor Pritzker to put Winter sports on pause November 17, 2020.
Since then, the Winter athletes throughout Illinois have been waiting for a start date, but unlike surrounding states that have restarted basketball and other Winter sports, Illinois remains sitting on the sidelines.
‘‘We believe that there is both data and science that validate the idea that we can safely conduct sports,’’ IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said in a statement. ‘‘We have seen it work in other states and believe it can in Illinois if we utilize the mitigations provided by IDPH and the IHSA [Sports Medicine Advisory Committee]. Students are already leaving or participating out of State on weekends. We believe that competing for their high school remains the safest venue for participation.’’
The hope was that the meeting with deputy governor Jesse Ruiz and IDPH director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike on Zoom would spark a move toward restarting sports in the coming week.
Anderson said he didn’t rule out the possibility of basketball moving to the Spring or Summer months. In October 2020, Pritzker changed basketball from medium risk to high risk.
Low risk sports will not start until the State returns to Phase 4 in the All Sports Policy. Winter sports considered low risk for coronavirus, such as boys swimming and diving, cheerleading, boys and girls bowling, girls gymnastics, and dancing, remain on pause under the current rules.
“Our Board of Directors is going to have difficult decisions to make regarding the seasons for medium- and high-risk sports very soon,” Anderson said. “With no specific IDPH timeline or statistical benchmarks established for the return of sports and the calendar shrinking, putting together a puzzle that allows for all sports to be played becomes increasingly improbable.
“We continue to urge all residents of our State to be diligent in their efforts to adhere to safety guidelines, as a lower positivity rate remains the key to athletics returning.”