The Illinois Elementary School Association announced today after a special meeting that Fall sports are canceled for 2020.
The board of directors voted unanimously a special meeting this morning to cancel the regular and state series for boys and girls golf, boys baseball, girls softball, and boys and girls cross country.
There are no plans to reschedule the seasons. A decision on girls and boys basketball has been delayed according to an announcement on IESA’s website. The board is expected to make a decision on basketball at their regularly scheduled meeting in late August.
Schools that participate in Speech will allow schools to hold their own speech contests during the upcoming school year. IESA says that schools that participate in speech will receive information at a later date.
In a statement, the IESA board says they understand that the community at large will be divided on the decision but the decision was ultimately made with the Illinois Department of Public Health’s current guidelines for athletic activities. IESA says that under those mandates, contests would have been extremely difficult to occur. The board says it would make little sense to be in direct conflict with IDPH and other state agencies that have regulatory control over schools. IESA says there are currently too many unknowns that lie ahead to have contests conducted safely for all involved.
The IHSA is expected to make an announcement about Fall sports for High Schools within the next few weeks.