Darren Kinnard
Section618.com
(Updated 1/7/21 10:08 pm)
It’s a start.
Maybe.
The Illinois High School Association was finally able to get a meeting with Illinois state officials about a timetable for the return of sports. IHSA officials, along with representatives from the Illinois Elementary School Association, met virtually Wednesday night with Deputy Governor Jesse Ruiz and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike and Chief of Staff Justin DeWitt.
“We understand that the state faces shifting priorities as it continues to fight the pandemic, while also beginning the distribution of the vaccine,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “There was no expectation that a single meeting would resolve all our questions. However, we believe that collaboration with state officials is vital for the IHSA to be able to develop an informed plan for the 300,000-plus student-athletes and over 800 high schools that encompass the Association.”
Anderson and company reintroduced the recommended mitigations from the IHSA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee trying to get some insight from the IDPH on the return of sports. The IHSA also asked the IDPH leadership to review the risk levels of remaining sports, with hopes of lowering some sports from their current risk levels.
“We believe that there is both data and science that validates the idea that we can safely conduct sports,” said Anderson. “We have seen it work in other states and believe it can in Illinois if we utilize the mitigations provided by IDPH and the IHSA SMAC. Students are already leaving or participating out-of-state on weekends. We believe that competing for their high school remains the safest venue for participation.”
Anderson’s message about the meeting to athletic directors and administrators across the state was not optimistic. “In my opinion, it feels like the return of any low-risk high school sports is dependent on positivity rates declining, which would obviously vary from region to region across the state. The prospect of playing any medium or high risk sports this school year remains unknown.”
Anderson also expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation from the IDPH. “It was very clear in the meeting that IDPH has not yet given much thought to the return of sports,” Anderson wrote. “I don’t mean that as an insult in any way, as they certainly have more pressing priorities. However, in my mind, it does reiterate how a willingness to collaborate with and allow us to share some of the burden early on may have eased this process for all involved. It is what we have wanted since the beginning but was not in the cards for whatever reason.”
Currently all high school and junior high sports are paused in Illinois due to the state being in Tier 3 mitigations. Those mitigations will last at least until January 15. Any regions that can move forward to Tier 2 mitigations after January 15 will be able to resume activities. To move to Tier 2, regions must have less than 12 percent test positivity for three consecutive days, have more than 20 percent of ICU and hospital beds available, and COVID-19 hospitalizations must also have declined in seven of the last 10 days. As of Thursday, neither Region 4 nor Region 5 hit the qualifying marks.
Back in late October, the IDPH moved basketball from Medium Risk to Higher Risk. Up until that point, under guidance for Medium Risk sports, teams had been able to hold intra-squad practices. Higher Risk sports were only allowed no contact practices. This was all prior to the state moving to the Tier 3 mitigations.
The IHSA Board of Directors are scheduled to meet again January 13.
“Our Board of Directors is going to have difficult decisions to make regarding the seasons for medium- and high-risk sports very soon,” said Anderson. “With no specific IDPH timeline or statistical benchmarks established for the return of sports and the calendar shrinking, putting together a puzzle that allows for all sports to be played becomes increasingly improbable. We continue to urge all residents of our state to be diligent in their efforts to adhere to safety guidelines, as a lower positivity rate remains the key to athletics returning.”
Basketball season was scheduled to start in November. Practices for football, volleyball, and boys soccer in the new look spring season are slated to begin February 15.
At least for now, the waiting game is the only game in town.