CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Despite Governor Pritzker declaring high school basketball a "high risk" activity because of COVID-19, the Illinois High School Association has decided to go ahead with the basketball season starting next month.
Governor Pritzker announced Tuesday updated guidelines for youth and adult recreational sports played indoors as the state battles the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic ahead of the winter season.
He ordered the basketball season to be put on-hold, as the Illinois Department of Public Health moved basketball from medium-risk for spreading the coronavirus to high-risk due to the close contact of players and indoor play.
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“As with sports in the fall, nothing is ‘cancelled,’ just put on hold until we’re through the thick of this pandemic,” Pritzker said, adding, “we know this virus is of most concern when people are indoors with high contact, especially in vigorous situations that bring about heavy breathing – like in wrestling, hockey and basketball.”
The Illinois High School Association Board of Directors met for a special board meeting on Wednesday, where the Board provided the latest information on the IHSA’s winter sports season.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said the IHSA was surprised by the Governor's decision regarding basketball. Anderson said the IHSA is highly confident that basketball games can be played safely.
"The guidelines put together by our Sport Medicine Advisory Committee really lean themselves to making competitions safe for students," he said.
According to the IHSA calendar, basketball practices are scheduled to start on Nov. 16 and the first games can be played on Nov. 30
As a part of the IHSA mitigation plan, masks will be worn by all players, coaches, and officials during play. Boys' and girls' basketball teams will follow team limitations allowing a maximum of 31 games. IHSA said it will become a local school decision to determine if a school will allow their basketball teams to participate following the guidelines developed by the SMAC.
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The Board released the following statement regarding the basketball action:
The Illinois High School Association Board of Directors made the decision today to continue with the IHSA basketball season as scheduled in 2020-21. In August, the Board slated basketball to take place from November to February based on the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) assigning a medium risk level to the sport. The IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) offered additional mitigations, such as masks during play and social distancing on benches, that the SMAC believed would allow basketball to be played safely.
The high school basketball season was potentially put on hold on October 27, when Governor Pritzker announced that IDPH had changed basketball’s risk level from medium risk to high risk.
After diligent discussion, the Board has made the decision today to follow the recommendation of the IHSA SMAC as it relates to basketball. The Board remains considerate of rising COVID-19 cases in Illinois and understand the importance of adhering to safety guidelines for the good of all citizens. However, the Board has not been presented any causal evidence that rising COVID-19 cases make basketball more dangerous to play by the IDPH or any other health organization nationally or internationally. On the contrary, the IHSA has been looking to bordering states who have sponsored both medium risk and high risk sports in the fall that have noted a low incident rate of COVID-19 spread.
Instead, we will require all IHSA basketball teams to adhere to those SMAC mitigations, and allow local school officials to make decisions related to participation.
Mounting challenges, from increased mental health issues among our students to a shrinking calendar that limits our ability to move sport seasons this school year, were instrumental in this decision to move forward with basketball as scheduled. We see our students regularly leaving the state to play sports, or covertly continuing to play locally. Students can be better protected in the high school setting, and the Board remains steadfast that playing under IHSA rules and SMAC mitigation is the safest way to conduct athletics at this juncture.
Illinois is a large and diverse state, and the IHSA membership is reflective of that. We understand that this decision will impact each high school and district differently. Some schools who remain in remote learning may not be able to start winter sports on time, and we feel for those in that situation. However, we have also learned that we cannot continue to look down the road to a season that may never come.
Contact days for our teams this fall have been an incredible boon to our students’ well-being. We fear for the mental health of students who attempt to traverse a long winter with no athletic outlet available. So much about dealing with this virus has been learned in the past eight months, and this decision will grant the membership the opportunity to apply that knowledge during their basketball season.
Each member of the IHSA Board volunteered for this position because they are passionate about high school sports and activities, and the positive impact they have on our students’ physical and mental health.
Governor Pritzker said despite the IHSA's assurances, he is not convinced that basketball is not high-risk.
"What I would suggest is that if there is a difference of opinion, I prefer err on the side of health and safety, and I think that is where we intended for all of our guidance to fall," he said.
Pritzker warns school districts that they can face legal liability if they don't follow the state's guidelines.
The IHSA also decided to go ahead with several other winter sports as scheduled.
All low-risk sports, including boys' swimming and diving, cheerleading, dance, boys' and girls' bowling, and girls' gymnastics, were approved and the season will run Nov. 16 through Feb. 13.
The Board voted to move wrestling from the winter season to the summer season, which will run from April 19 to June 26.