BREAKING NEWS: Illinois High School sports will be put on hold effective immediately, and could be delayed through 2020 and into spring 2021 due to covid-19 mitigations, according to a statement released this evening by IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson.

The statement was released following Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s announcement of moving Illinois to Tier 3 mitigations for covid-19 starting Friday.

There’s no set date for the return of sporting activities, however the statement says the IHSA remains “optimistic” for a return soon.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

The statement reads as follows:

IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson:
“The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recognizes that today’s announcement (November 17, 2020) by Governor Pritzker will temporarily pause the IHSA’s winter sports season. We remain optimistic that these new mitigations, coupled with the emergence of a vaccine, will aid in creating participation opportunities in the New Year for IHSA student-athletes in winter, spring, and summer sports. The IHSA Board of Directors will meet as scheduled on November 19, 2020, to continue plotting out potential paths for IHSA sport and activity participation through the remainder of the school year. Although representatives from the Governor’s office and the Illinois Department of Public Health will be unable to attend the meeting, today’s updated guidance from Governor Pritzker will aid the Board’s decision-making. We have asked Deputy Governor Ruiz and Dr. Ezike to engage with us in the near future, so that we can collaborate on developing a plan to safely conduct IHSA sports and activities as soon as possible. IHSA schools have been exemplary in adhering to state regulations throughout this pandemic and we hope that non-school programs will hold themselves to the same standard as we all put the long-term health and safety of our fellow citizens ahead of short-term athletic competition.”

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.