CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It’s late October, but high school athletes around the state are looking to the IHSA for a final thumbs up to start preparing for winter sports.
The head of the Illinois High School Association said the IHSA board of directors will meet Oct. 28 to vote on whether to go ahead with winter sports starting Nov. 16, and if so, announce more details on a plan moving forward.
When the IHSA first reconfigured the sports schedule due to COVID-19 restrictions, moving football, volleyball and boys' soccer to the spring, it also set a date of Nov. 16 as the first day of practice for winter sports.
Before that can happen though, the IHSA needs to get word from the Illinois Public Health Department that the IHSA’s COVID-safety plans are adequate. Executive Director Craig Anderson said the IHSA expects to have a response from public health officials and final recommendations by next Monday.
"We feel like we are making positive strides in our discussion with the Illinois Department of Public Health to be allowed to conduct IHSA winter sports as scheduled," Anderson said in the statement. "We believe we have a plan to do so safely and want to provide IDPH ample time to review the winter sports plans, and supportive data, we have provided them."
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Winter sports include basketball, girls' gymnastics, cheerleading, boys' swimming and diving, bowling, and dance.
The board also granted athletes in what will be spring and summer sports in 2021 - football, boys' soccer, girls' volleyball, baseball, softball, track, girls' soccer, boys' volleyball, boys' tennis, and lacrosse - to play for both a school team and a non-school team at the same time for the 2021 season.