Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

With the scheduled start of practices for fall high school sports in Illinois quickly approaching, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has postponed its scheduled Board of Directors meeting tomorrow and will now meet with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Friday.

“The Illinois High School Association will take part in a roundtable discussion with leaders from IDPH & ISBE on Friday, July 24,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We expect this meeting will provide important guidance on how the IHSA will proceed with fall sports. As a result, we have postponed the IHSA Board Meeting scheduled for July 22 until July 29.”

Last Tuesday, the IHSA announced it will defer to the IDPH, ISBE, and the Governor on all Return to Play Guidelines moving forward.

On July 3 after receiving approval from the IDPH, the IHSA released its Phase 4 Return to Play Guidelines to coincide with the Governor’s Restore Illinois Phase 4. Six days later, at the direction of the IDPH and the Governor’s Office, the IHSA put further restrictions on the Phase 4 guidelines. These restrictions were to get the IHSA guidelines in alignment with the ISBE return to class guidance. The IDPH still has not officially approved these changes to Phase 4.

Practices for fall sports are scheduled to start August 10. Golf (boys and girls) would be the first sport eligible to have contests, starting August 13.