State sanctioned games, playoffs, covid and 7th Judicial Circuit Court's Temporary Restraining Order

 

[February 08, 2022] 

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting, which included both virtual and in-person attendance, on Monday, February 7, 2022. One of the points discussed at the meeting was high school competitions and state play-offs.

The IHSA Board of Directors discussed the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the 7th Judicial Circuit Court on February 4, 2022. The Board discussed its applicability for IHSA State Series events and given the fluidity of the situation, is consulting its legal counsel, while also monitoring the appeal proceedings on the initial ruling. The IHSA will communicate how State Series events should be handled relative to this ruling in the next 24 to 48 hours. Regular-season contest mitigations shall continue to be determined by the host school.

IHSA announced on Jan. 28, 2022, the following preparation for withdrawals due to covid from State play-off seasons:

IHSA Procedures: https://www.ihsa.
org/NewsMedia/Announcements/Art
MID/2803/ArticleID/1914/preview/true

For sports/activities that indicate that they will follow the Terms & Conditions, that generally means that there was already a procedure in place to replace a withdrawing team with the next highest scoring team from their Sectional. The Terms & Conditions for each are posted on their respective sport/activity page on the IHSA website.

A school makes the decision if they cannot continue, not the IHSA. Example: Team A wins a Regional semifinal boys basketball game, but its entire varsity roster is in quarantine on the day of the Regional Championship. It will be the school’s decision to participate with a roster of JV players if available, or choose to withdraw, which would advance the team they defeated in the Regional Semifinal to the Regional Championship.

[Based on IHSA reports/LDN]