IHSA recap from today’s special board meeting

Anon1754760634

All-American
May 29, 2001
76,845
9,142
113
any guesses if anyone besides the IHSA shows up for this?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors held a virtual update session on November 11, 2020, to review recent developments related to the IHSA basketball season ahead of the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting on November 19, 2020.

The Board announced that they are formally inviting representatives from Governor Pritzker’s Office and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to attend the IHSA Board meeting on November 19. Additionally, the IHSA will also seek representation at the meeting from the Illinois Principals Association (IPA), the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and a coalition of nearly 200 school superintendents who recently contacted the Governor regarding school sports during the 2020-21 school year.

“The Board hopes to create a dialogue and build a more collaborative relationship with all the entities involved with developing sports policy in our state as everyone tries to navigate the myriad issues caused by the pandemic,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “The Board’s decision to move forward with the IHSA basketball season was not meant to be adversarial. It was rooted in a desire to receive more direct communication and data from our state partners. They hope all the groups will see the mutual benefit of increased discourse and be represented at the meeting on November 19.

The Board also announced that schools who plan to begin basketball practice on November 16 should adhere to the Level 1 mitigations from the IDPH All Sports Policy until at least November 19. The Board cited rising COVID-19 cases in the state and a recent membership survey for this recommendation. The Board plans to provide more direction on basketball practice and games following the meeting on November 19.

The Board revealed that among the 546 schools who responded to the survey (IHSA has 813 member schools), nearly 300 IHSA schools do not plan to start basketball on November 16, and another 212 schools remain unsure of their status.

“The Board recognizes the difficult decisions they have placed on member schools regarding basketball,” said Anderson. “With a limited number of schools set to begin their season on November 16, they believe it is prudent to adhere to IDPH guidance as they work with state officials to gain greater clarity on the metrics and mitigations required to conduct certain high school sports throughout the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.”
 
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sporthog_9er

All-Conference
Jun 9, 2001
1,320
1,173
113
Haha they will not show up to this meeting.

While I think it is a decent PR move to put pressure back on JB/IDPH to make a move, I ultimately believe including them on anything will hurt IHSA sports. They simply don't care and don't want kids to play.

If I were IHSA, all my energy would be spent on researching and communicating with other state associations, lawyers, and insurance people to investigate how they are able to conduct sports. And I would be bringing this back to IL school officials to explain how it can be done, and show how there are no legal repercussions if going against IDPH or insurance "liability".
 

gen22

Freshman
Nov 14, 2012
60
56
0
Could the Ihsa run basketball and baseball at the same time? Sooner or later the ihsa has to develop plan b or c. I just feel they are not being realistic with a winter season, so they need to think about fitting all these sports into a time period of about March to July and changing some rules for participation. If the pandemic hasn’t calmed down by then, the ihsa can cancel seasons.
 

johnndoe

Senior
Oct 19, 2019
1,193
850
113
IHSA and their member schools continue their call to state officials to provide "greater clarity on the metrics and mitigations required to conduct certain high school sports throughout the remainder of the 2020-21 school year." Absent those specifics, we are all getting jerked around in reality.
 

mc140

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
8,781
2,830
113
Might as well play. JB is not going to allow a spring season. If 15 schools play, then atleast those 15 will get some games in while no one else does.
 
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