IHSA releases schedule for winter and spring sports

(The Center Square) – The Illinois High School Association announced plans for winter and spring student-athletes to return to formal competition Wednesday.

With the exception of football, which requires players to participate in practice on 12 days, all sports will be required to hold practice on 7 days prior to holding a contest.

Seven sports are now allowed to begin practicing to prepare for contests as soon as February. Those sports include boy’s swimming and diving, cheerleading, girl’s gymnastics, dance, badminton and bowling.

Basketball can also begin preparing for games, but those can only be played after 7 practices and in those regions that are in Phase 4 COVID-19 mitigation rules. There will be no statewide postseason tournament this season.

Football practices can begin March 3, and games can begin March 19 in regions that are in Phase 4. There will be no postseason tournament for football this spring.

“We’re glad to have a plan in place and look forward again just seeing our kids back enjoying the experiences of competing against one another, and that really is the aim of our board,” said IHSA executive director Craig Anderson.

The IHSA will not set mandates to limit how many games can be played in sports like basketball, and will allow local officials to be “reasonable” with their spring schedule.

Boy’s soccer starts March 1, volleyball will begin March 8, and wrestling will start April 19. Traditional spring sports will begin April 5 and will get a longer season after missing all of last year. They will also be allowed to have a state tournament.

All athletes in indoor sports, with the exception of swimming and gymnastics, will be required to wear masks during competition. Officials in all sports, including outdoor sports, will also be required to wear masks.

The IHSA Board of Directors issued a statement on the day’s events.

“There was never going to be a one-size-fits-all solution to playing 25 sports seasons in a little over four months. What did occur was collaboration and camaraderie,” the board said. “Each board member may not have been able to have all of their specific concerns addressed, but we worked together to produce a schedule and plan that we believe will work for our student-athletes.”

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