Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced Wednesday that he was instituting stricter guidelines for both youth and high school sports. These restrictions do not apply to college or pro sports. The announcement came as the IHSA Board of Directors was meeting to decide the plans for sports going forward. That announcement is set for later this afternoon.

The Governor’s guidelines place sports in three different contact risk categories with four different levels of play allowed. Beginning Saturday August 15th, low risk sports can be played at levels 1, 2, and 3. Medium risk sports can be played at levels 1 and 2, and high-risk sports can be played at level 1.

Sports such as baseball, softball, cross country, and track and field could all be considered in the lower level category with some modifications. Other traditional IHSA fall sports fall into medium (volleyball and soccer) or higher (football) risk categories.