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IESA Shuts Down Fall Sports Season


Participants in the seventh-grade girls mile run make their way around the track at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights during a May 2019 IESA track and field meet. (Shawn Clisham/Journal photo)

The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors made the heartbreaking decision to cancel the IESA fall sports season.

After much debate, the board Thursday unanimously approved canceling the regular season and IESA state series for boys golf, girls golf, baseball, softball, boys cross country and girls cross country for the 2020-21 school year. 

The IESA states there are no plans to reschedule the activities or conduct them later in the school year, even if high school teams end up competing this year. Softball practice was scheduled to start July 27 and the baseball and cross-country seasons were scheduled to start Aug. 3.

The board delayed any decision on girls basketball, which is scheduled to start practice Aug. 31. The board will meet again in late August to make a decision regarding girls basketball. 

The IESA board did review and approve a plan submitted by the Speech Advisory Committee that allows schools to hold their own speech contests during the upcoming school year. Schools that participate in speech will receive information at a later date. 

No decisions regarding any other activities were made.

“The decisions made by the IESA Board of Directors were by far the most difficult decisions I have ever witnessed the board make in my tenure with IESA,” IESA Excecutive Director Steve Endsley said. “The current limitations on schools mandated by the Illinois Department of Public Health were brought up many times during the meeting. With there being so many unknowns regarding the reopening of schools, the safety of the very students who participate in junior high and middle school activities was at the very center of the discussion.”

Endsley added: “Our sincere hope is that there are changes to the limitations placed on schools which will allow the remainder of the activities in the upcoming school year to be held as scheduled.”

The decision was not made easily and the IESA stated it knows it will be split among those hearing the news.

“We know that there will be many people within the school system who will applaud this decision and there will be many who will be strongly opposed,” the IESA said in a press release. “At the forefront of the board decision is that the activities must be conducted within the current limitations that have been placed on the schools by the IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health). In particular, the mandate that there can be no physical contact between athletes and that students must be socially distanced (6 ft. of separation) makes the administration and conduct of games and contests very difficult and in some cases impossible to adhere to the mandates. 

“While there are plenty of youth league baseball and softball teams playing games and tournaments this summer, many are not adhering to the same stringent guidelines. Because summer leagues and travel ball are taking place, this may make the decision of the IESA Board of Directors seem odd. The difference is that schools will be held to the IDPH mandates and the youth summer contests are not. It would make little sense for IESA to move forward with these activities that would require schools to be in direct conflict with mandates by state agencies that have regulatory control over the schools.”

While the IESA canceled fall sports, it didn’t cancel or postpone winter and spring sports scheduled for later this season. The remaining sports, not mentioned yet, include boys wrestling, girls volleyball, boys bowling, girls bowling, boys track and girls track. The other activities include chess, music and the scholastic bowl.

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