CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Illinois High School Association released a plan Wednesday night that it hopes will give every high school athlete an opportunity to compete this school year if the pandemic eases sufficiently.
According to the new sports schedule, all 24 sports will get some play this year, and spring sports will get a full season. However, for some sports most of the Chicago area cannot compete against other teams. Regions are required to reach Phase 4 mitigation before competition is allowed.
IHSA said all seven winter sports are now allowed to begin practicing and potentially holding competitions by the beginning of February.
Six out of those seven sports - including dance, cheerleading, bowling, girls’ gymnastics, badminton, and boys’ swimming and diving - can begin practices immediately, with games taking place as the regions involved are at Tier 2 or lower mitigation levels.
Boys’ and girls’ basketball, which are considered higher-risk activities, can also begin practicing immediately, but competition can only begin in regions that are in Phase 4 coronavirus mitigation rules.
Most winter sports will not have a postseason, though dance and cheerleading will conduct their state series virtually, according to the IHSA.
Schedules were also laid out for spring and summer sports seasons. Spring sports, such as, boys' soccer, football, girls' volleyball, boys' gymnastics, and boys' and girls' water polo, will begin practicing sometime in March.
Specifically for football, practices will begin March 3. According to the IHSA, games can begin on March 19 in regions that are in Phase 4 coronavirus mitigation rules, and the season will conclude on April 24. There will not be a postseason tournament for football this spring, IHSA said.
Besides football, all sports will be required to practice seven days before holding a competition, IHSA said. Football will be required to practice on 12 different days before a game. Whether most spring sports will get a postseason has yet to be determined.
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For sports moved to "summer" season, including baseball, boys and girls’ lacrosse, girls’ soccer, softball, boys’ tennis, boys and girls’ track and field, and boys’ volleyball, practices will begin April 5. All sports will be allowed to resume competition seven days after the start of practices, under the IHSA guidelines.
Wrestling practice is scheduled to begin April 19, with meets allowed to proceed seven days later, provided that regions are in Phase 4 mitigation rules.
“The Board wants to do everything in their power to prevent spring sports from going two consecutive years with no postseason IHSA play,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “There are obviously no guarantees, as risk levels by sport and local region mitigation statuses will factor significantly. Postseason could mean being limited to a Regional or Sectional level of competition, but we have not ruled out the idea of playing a full state tournament in these traditional spring sports if possible."
See the full schedule here:
Illinois High School Association Executive Director Craig Anderson said creating the new sports schedule required rescheduling some sports. He admitted there were some challenges, such as the overlapping of football and basketball.
"We did look at and consider an earlier start date to football, but if you start football earlier, then you're saying you're squeezing out the basketball players. So we tried to find a happy medium there," Anderson said.
Anderson said the IHSA is not requiring COVID-19 testing as part of the plan, because the association believes the safety protocols in place are sufficient to protect students from the virus.
"There was no discussion from our board about testing or requiring testing. Likewise, we have received no information from the Department of Public Health that would require that of our students who engage in either practice or competition," he said.
All athletes in indoor sports, with the exception of swimming and diving and gymnastics on an apparatus, will be required to wear masks during competition. All officials in all sports, including outdoor sports, will also be required to wear masks.
Anderson said some sports won't have state tournaments, including football and basketball. He also points out all these plans are dependent on the easing of the pandemic in some parts of the state, and not having a rise in infections.