Possible Scenario of Moving Fall Sports To Spring
Illinois High School Association executive director Craig Anderson told the state’s athletic directors last Wednesday the IHSA is prepared to delay the start of the 2020-21 high school sports season, possibly until January as some models have suggested.
“If we remain limited in our ability to offer all of our fall sports this fall, we are considering a schedule that would permit all three seasons of sport activity to be conducted during the 2020-21 school year,” Anderson said. “We have received numerous emails from school administrators requesting this model to play out. This idea remains a priority for our staff and board. We are considering virtual competitions for many of our activities.”
As of now boys and girls cross country, boys and girls golf, boys soccer, football, girls tennis, girls swimming and diving and volleyball teams in Illinois possibly will not be competing in contests until the spring, which is similar to what other states have disclosed they will be doing.
Anderson also reminded the state’s ADs about the IHSA’s virtual roundtable meeting with representatives of the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education, which was held last Friday.
“To date, we continue to have incomplete information from (the) IDPH and the Governor’s office on what plans/limitations will exist for the fall sports time period,” Anderson said.
The National Federation of State High School Associations, of which the IHSA is a member, has been keeping tabs on what states have delayed the start of their fall sports, and to date, 18 states that include Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia are on that list.
Football will not be played this fall in California, the District of Columbia, New Mexico, Virginia and Washington.
The fate of fall sports in Illinois will not be known until this week, as the IHSA’s special board of directors meeting was pushed back to Wednesday, July 29.
The first official practices of the 2020 fall sports squads are set to begin Monday, Aug. 10.
