By FRED KRONER
The Illinois High School Association Board of Directors made some policy adjustments on Monday (April 12) at its monthly meeting.
The organization dropped the requirement for student-athletes to wear masks this spring while competing in low-risk outdoor sports and activities.
That decision affects baseball and softball as well as track and field, boys’ tennis and bass fishing. These sports have started their preseason practice already or will soon.
The mask rule for those sports applies only to individuals who are participating. Anyone on the bench or not actively involved will still be required to wear a mask.
Officials in these sports will still be obligated to be masked up, unless they are socially distanced.
The IHSA also confirmed dates and sites for upcoming state championships, which will be the first sanctioned championships held by the IHSA during the 2020-21 school year.
The state track meets will be spread out over six days on consecutive weeks at a location to be announced, possibly later this week.
The Class 1A girls’ meet will be on Thursday, June 10, followed by the 2A girls’ meet on June 11 and the 3A girls’ meet on June 12.
The Class 1A boys’ meet will be on Thursday, June 17, followed by the 2A boys meet on June 18 and the 3A boys’ meet on June 19.
The baseball and softball finals will be spread out over two days, but in the same week.
The Class 1A and 3A tournaments will be held on June 17. The1A event will be held at Illinois State University and the 3A finals will be in Schaumburg.
The Class 2A and 4A tournaments will be held on June 18. The 2A finals will be at Illinois State University and the 4A event will be held in Joliet.
In softball, the 1A and 2A state tournaments will be conducted on June 16 in Peoria. The 3A and 4A state meets will follow on June 17, also in Peoria.
The state championships will be the first conducted by the IHSA since March, 2020. They are in sports which had their 2020 seasons canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of the lateness of the state tournament events, the IHSA reduced the summer contact days per sport from 25 to 20 for this year only.
Additionally, the Illinois Department of Public Health has recommended COVID-19 testing for student-athletes in high-risk sports, which includes football (which has two weeks remaining in its season) and wrestling (which starts on April 19 and continues through June 12.)
There will be no charge to schools for participating in the testing. The State of Illinois will fund the optional tests for any school which elects to test athletes in the high-risk sports.
—
Meanwhile, the Illinois Elementary School Association announced it will not host state tournaments this school year in track and field.
Sectional meets, however, will be held in track and field for both boys and girls. For Class 1A and 2A IESA members, the dates will be either May 7 or May 8. For Class 3A and 4A members, the dates will be either May 14 or May 15.
There will be no postseason series for IESA wrestling, which started this week and continues through May 30.
