Southwestern Conference schools set to begin basketball. Others await state COVID guidance
Some metro-east high schools are set to start basketball practice next week, even though state leaders have offered conflicting COVID-19 guidance for the season.
The Illinois High School Association said boys and girls basketball could start Monday, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health have warned against playing, saying schools that disregard IDPH guidance could face liability trouble.
While some districts stopped short of saying they wouldn’t start practices without a consensus, O’Fallon High School announced last week that it would not move forward without one.
O’Fallon is not alone. Of the 546 members schools that responded to an IHSA poll, nearly 300 of them said they will not be starting Monday and another 212 repoted they had yet to make a firm decision.
The remainder of the Southwestern Conference — which includes Belleville East, Belleville West, Collinsville and Edwardsville — each confirmed their plan to begin restrictive workouts on the IHSA’s Monday timeline. Attempts to reach East St. Louis District 189 for its plans for the coming basketball season were unsuccessful.
IDPH labeled basketball as a high risk sport in the pandemic. Teams must follow level 1 mitigations, which allow for “no-contact practices and trainings only.” Intra-team scrimmages are not allowed under level 1.
The IHSA Board of Directors met Wednesday, ahead of the board’s regularly scheduled meeting Nov. 19. It said has formally invited representatives from IDPH and Pritzker’s office to the meeting to talk about the upcoming season.
“The Board’s decision to move forward with the IHSA basketball season was not meant to be adversarial,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anerson said in a statement. “It was rooted in a desire to receive more direct communication and data from our state partners.”
The board said it plans to provide more direction for member schools following the Nov. 19 meeting.
Local high school athletic directors and coaches said they’re hopeful that the meeting will result in clear guidance that allows students to play.
“There needs to be some common ground where all parties can agree on mitigations moving forward that enable our student athletes to participate in athletics similar to our neighboring states while keeping everyone safe and healthy,” said Clay Smith, athletics director for Collinsville High School.
Illinois coronavirus cases have climbed since October, with the “third wave” increasing case numbers for every age group, including school-aged students.
The Southwestern Conference released a statement Nov. 6 asking for IHSA, IDPH and Pritzker’s office to reach a consensus. Schools were put in an “unfortunate position,” they said.
High Schools in the conference include: Alton, Belleville East, Belleville West, Collinsville, East St. Louis, Edwardsville and O’Fallon.
“I am just hoping that next week’s meeting will provide more clarification and allow us all to get back in the gym with our kids, because I believe we can do that safely,” said Alex Schobert, boys basketball coach at Belleville West High School.
Edwardsville Athletics Director Alex Fox said he hoped the Nov. 19 meeting would end with a resolution “everyone can live with, one way or the other.”
Collinsville boys coach Darin Lee said players will play on club teams if they’re not able to play for their schools.
“The school environment will be by far the safest for everyone,” he said. “I have seen this first hand all summer and fall.”