CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- With Illinois high school sports preparing to start-up again, the Illinois High School Association said there’s a need for more officials.
In a normal school year, Illinois High School Association Executive Director Craig Anderson said there are about 12,000 people who officiate games and other competitions in Illinois. Many do more than one sport.
He said they all have to re-license every year, and this year, the number who’ve signed up is down. Anderson would like to see people go to the organization's website, ihsa.org, to find out what it would take to become an official.
"[I] would encourage those, again, who are listening, because there’ll be a need and there’ll be some traditional officials that say, ‘You know what? This isn’t the time for me to return,’ and we respect that," Anderson said.
"For those listening, if you ever thought about becoming an official, now's the time. There is going to be lots of games that need officials."
He said football and wrestling may be two of the sports that have shortages, compared to others.
High school athletes are going to have shortened seasons, with winter sports starting next month, fall sports in March, and spring sports starting in April.
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Anderson said he's glad to see that student-athletes will get a chance to play this year.
"It was a much better situation to wake up today and know that we’ve got some plans. We feel like they’re legitimate plans that’ll engage kids on opportunities to play sports," he said.
COVID-prevention guidelines for students-athletes and their coaches include face mask-wearing by all athletes, except water sport athletes when they're in the pool and gymnasts when they're on an apparatus.
Illinois Health Department restrictions will also limit the number of spectators to a maximum of 50 people in areas that have done the best in controlling the spread of the coronavirus.