UPDATED: High School Sports Could Resume Soon, Masks Required for Games, Maximum 50 Spectators
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Noah Newton (L) fouls Springfield Lanphier’s T.J. Price during a game last January. The two Springfield rivals could reignite their basketball rivalry soon after Governor JB Pritzker lifted restrictions on youth sports Friday.
The Pritzker administration announced Friday it would allow youth sports, like high school and junior high, to restart local and conference games when a school’s region drops to “Phase 4” mitigations.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngoze Ezike says there was a priority to get youth sports restarted, but only if they could be done safely.
“I hear and I see and I feel the passion around youth sports,” she said. “I take very seriously the value that recreational outlets offer for physical and mental health of our children. I also take very seriously the need to protect them, as do their parents and their coaches and the broader communities.”
Pritzker says there have been other priorities than restarting games.
“The issue here is very much, are children carrying it home to their parents and grandparents after interacting very closely, sometimes without a lot of padding, and interacting with one another,” Pritzker said. “So we want to make sure that we’re keeping families safe. Our number one concern has always been that kids can go back to school, and so making it safe for them to go to academic classes is the thing that we’ve been focused on.”
Only three of 11 regions of the state have so far qualified to allow sports to resume: Region 3 (which includes Springfield, Jacksonville, and Quincy), Region 5 (which includes Carbondale, Mt. Vernon, and Harrisburg), and Region 6, which includes Champaign-Urbana, Charleston-Mattoon, and Effingham. (You can see a map of the regions here.)
Phase 4 allows practices to restart and intraconference, or local games to restart. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the non-government organization which oversees high school sports in Illinois, has yet to announce when they expect sports to restart or how a season may look.
It isn’t clear yet if players will be required to wear masks while playing, if any crowd will be allowed, or if a state tournament can take place this year.
A message for IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson has not been returned.
UPDATE (1/23 9:30 P.M.):
The IHSA released an email Executive Director sent to member schools Friday evening.
“The most significant update today involves high-risk sports in Regions that have improved from Tier 1 to Phase 4. 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.
The Board of Directors will set season dates for the remainder of the school year when they meet again this Wednesday, January 27.
Updated mitigation table (including Phase 4), sports schedules, risk levels, and other pertinent information can be found at www.ihsa.org/Resources/COVID-19All low-risk winter sports must conduct practices on seven days prior to their first contest. Basketball teams must conduct 12 days of practice prior to their first contest. Fall, spring, and summer sports can begin contact days on Monday based on the allowances of your EMS Region and local school district approval.
Masks must be worn in practice and competition. Social distancing should be adhered to for bench players and game personnel. Schools must follow the mitigations and guidelines established by the IHSA.
With contests now on the horizon, a reminder of IDPH’s guidance for spectators at contests. There is no differentiation in the numbers below regardless of whether the sport is indoors or outdoors. The numbers below do not include players, coaches, officials and other necessary game personnel, the spectators are in addition to them.
-In Phase 4 Regions, you can have a maximum of 50 spectators.
-in Tier 1 Regions, you can have a maximum of 25 spectators.
-In Tier 2 Regions, you cannot have spectators.
Host schools may choose to be more restrictive in their spectator policies.
Finally, an important clarification regarding football contact days. Football contact days that are permitted in some regions beginning January 25, 2021 will be limited to the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.157. Please follow these guidelines that would have a build-up acclimatization to maximum equipment of helmet and shoulder pads with no live contact or tackling to the ground during the contact day period.
UPDATE (5:59 P.M.):
Danville High School Athletic Director Mark Bacys says restarting sports will be “great for kids.”
“It is a relief that we have reached the point where the metrics are trending in the right direction to allow a safer return to play,” Bacys said. “I think this will be so beneficial for the kids. These last 10 months have been difficult for everyone in a lot of different ways, but I feel that a lot of kids have really struggled not being at school with friends and participating in the extra curriculars that they so love. We look forward to getting them back on the courts [and] fields in a safe way. We started our low risk sports like bowling and swimming yesterday and you could just see the relief in the kids as they started up again.”
UPDATE (1/23 8:02 A.M.):
To get back to athletics, Belleville East High School Athletic Director Mark Larsen says safety will be a key component.
“We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to be able to get back to athletics in the near future,” Larsen said. “We are currently working on putting together plans to get our student-athletes back to their respective teams in a safe and meaningful manner.”
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UPDATE (1/25 4:12 P.M.):
But is there concern about keeping kids safe while the pandemic rages around them? Kevin McKeown, Athletic Director at Andrew High School in suburban Tinley Park, says there isn’t undue worry for him.
“Our fall season went well where not one athlete contracted COVID from a teammate or opposing school player,” he said. ”We did have a few close contact cases but never when someone contracted it from a practice or competition. Those cases were all individuals that contracted from outside of school. Our staff makes it their priority to follow all IDPH requirements to protect their athletes and themselves. It is because of our dedication to the protection of our athletes we feel confident that through following the guidelines we can drastically reduce the risk.”
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Rock Island High School Athletic Director Michelle Lillis says the announcement is a good one for students and communities.
“We are thrilled at the possibility of all sports getting a chance to play. It is, and has been a roller coaster ride. A few days ago, we were thinking high risk sports had no chance. Today there is hope,” Lillis said. “It's been a difficult year, but we're making the best of it and hopefully we'll get the chance to play again soon.”
