Premier holiday basketball tournament canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
The revised IHSA 2020-21 boys high school basketball season is still nearly three months from tipping off. But on Friday the state lost one of its marquee holiday events.
Centralia High School Athletic Director Lee Bennett announced the Centralia Holiday Basketball Tournament has been canceled in order to follow the new guidelines established by the Illinois High School Association in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the premier Christmas holiday hoops events in the Midwest each year, the tournament attracts huge crowds who gather to watch some of the top players and teams in the nation showcase their talent.
Belleville West, led by current Ohio State University standout EJ Liddell, won back-to-back titles at Centralia in 2017 and 2018 while on its way to consecutive Class 3A state titles.
But with teams being allowed to play only twice a week with no tournaments, Bennett called the decision to cancel this year’s event “inevitable.”
“It’s really heartbreaking that we are making this announcement,” Bennett said in a telephone interview Friday. “But it really was inevitable. With the guidelines established by the IHSA and IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health), to have 16 teams and we were not going to be able to bring in teams from out of state anyway .... it just wasn’t feasible to have the tournament this year.”
The Centralia Tournament is the second holiday tournament to officially announce it has been canceled. Freeburg Athletic Director Matt Laur confirmed the Columbia-Freeburg Holiday Tournament has been canceled. The event was scheduled for Dec. 28-30.
Four other holiday high school holiday events, at least for the moment, are still on.
Collinsville Athletic Director Clay said Friday the 37th Collinsville Holiday Tournament is still scheduled. Smith added the tournament committee is still holding out hope restrictions change. A decision is expected in the near future.
Mascoutah Athletic Director Scott Battas also is still hopeful both the Mascoutah Wrestling Tournament (Dec. 18-19) and the Mascoutah Girls Invitational (Dec. 23, 28-29) will still take place while Mater Dei Athletic Director Ron Schadegg said the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament is also still scheduled.
Bennett hoping hoops takes place this winter
Under the IHSA’s Return to Activites 2020-21 IHSA’s Return to Activites 2020-21 revised plan, the winter season, which includes among others, boys and girls basketball and wrestling, runs from Nov. 16-Feb. 12.
Bennett just hopes athletes will have the chance to play this winter.
“Basketball season is still two months away,” Bennett said. “You just hope that with the guidelines that we’ve been given that even though basketball season won’t be the same you just hope that the people involved go out there, put on that uniform and go out and compete against whoever, whatever and wherever.”
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 12:26 AM.
