The Illinois High School Association Board of Directors has decided to cancel all IHSA spring state tournaments for 2019-2020. Board members announced their decision after holding their April meeting via a video conference call this (Tuesday) morning.
‘’We support the decision by Governor Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education, and given the logistics, we simply felt we could not conduct state tournaments that meet the expectations of our member schools this spring,’’ said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. ‘’As disappointing as it may be for students, it is the right decision for their health and safety, as well as the health and safety of the general public, as we cope with this unprecedented pandemic.’’
The IHSA offers state tournaments in the following sports and activities during the spring:
- Boys and Girls Track and Field
- Girls Badminton
- Boys Gymnastics
- Bass fishing
- Boys Volleyball
- Boys Baseball and softball
- Girls Soccer
- Boys & Girls Water Polo
- Boys Tennis
- Bass Fishing
- Boys and Girls Lacrosse
All of those tournaments have been cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year.
The Board also determined that summer contact days are suspended for this year, unless state government and medical leaders indicate such gatherings are safe. At that time, the Board indicated a willingness to reconsider how summer contact might be conducted and whether opportunities for schools to conduct some kind of spring athletic events might occur.
‘’Once it is determined safe to return, we will provide a detailed outline to our schools on the plan for summer contact days and possibly some kind of spring athletic events,’’ said Anderson. ‘’Including if the number of days and dates that coaches can meet with athletes has been altered. At this point, though, all that is dependent upon state government and medical leaders giving the go-ahead for such.’’
‘’Our thoughts right now are with all the impacted students, coaches and communities, especially the seniors,’’ said Anderson. ‘’It will be difficult for them to find a silver lining in all of this, but we stress that even if they don’t get the chance to compete again at the high school level, they are better for having been a part of their respective high school teams. By participating in high school sports and activities, they were exposed to life lessons of teamwork, leadership, and overcoming adversity that are difficult to replicate elsewhere. The latter is applicable now more than ever,’’ added Anderson.
‘’We hope that we can band together and refocus all our efforts on supporting the doctors, nurses, first responders, and all other essential personnel who are putting their health and safety on the line each day to keep us safe,’’
The IHSA will continue to communicate with and monitor briefings from state officials, and based on those timelines, provide updates to its member schools as it relates to potential spring participation and summer contact days.
‘’The possibility of playing a spring sport game this summer is about closure,’’ said Anderson. ‘’If we are able to offer this opportunity, no student-athlete would be restricted by having practiced or competed with a non-school team.’’
