IHSA to defer to state on guidance
The Illinois High School Association announced Tuesday it will defer to the state on its Return to Play guidelines.
The Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois State Board of Education and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office will take the lead on additional guidance for the upcoming school year, the IHSA said in a news release.
“There is an unprecedented level of planning for this school year due to COVID-19, and we have come to understand that there needs to be a greater consistency between the guidelines for returning to learn and returning to interscholastic athletics,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in the news release.
“Some of the recommendations by the IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) and directives from IDPH have come into direct conflict with each other, especially as it relates to the use of masks by student-athletes. As a result, we feel it is important to let IDPH and ISBE provide a consistent direction for our membership moving forward. We will wait on direction from these organizations for further guidance on Return to Play plans for the 2020-21 school year.”
The IHSA had informed schools Thursday that the current guidelines would be revised due to an increase in cases of COVID-19 among studentathletes. Among the changes, which await approval by the IDPH, are an increased use of masks and no scrimmages in sports requiring physical contact.
Despite the developments in the past week, Anderson sounded an optimistic note about fall sports.
“We still believe there is a path to conducting high school athletics in the fall, like the majority of states surrounding Illinois plan to do,” Anderson said. “To make that happen, it’s important that we allow IDPH, ISBE and the governor’s office to take the lead on ensuring the safest and most consistent protocols.”