The Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation met this past Sunday and revised their plans for overseeing the 2020-21 season.
Originally, the organization had hoped to resume practice and competition for young wrestlers like those in the St. Joseph Youth Wrestling Club after the Christmas holiday this coming January. Looking at more realistic timetable to return to the mat, the IKWF tentatively announced plans to resume practices starting April 5, 2021.
"We are hopeful that all of the craziness that we have all experienced throughout this year will start to take a turn for the better, and that we will be able to have a season sometime early next year," head coach Billy Gallo said in a letter to parents on Facebook. "We understand that there will be conflicts with kids participating in other sports and other commitments, but we plan to still start with a season at that time. Again, maybe we will see some improvement with this pandemic via vaccination/treatment sooner than April, and we will be able to start before then."
Meanwhile, the club will continue work on the new facility in the former Jim Clingan Auction building north of the Interstate.
"We can't wait to get the wrestlers in there," Gallo said. "We appreciate all of your patience and understanding throughout all of this, and we will continue to send out any updates as we get them."
He also said that registration fees will be returned to those families who have paid and all registration information will be kept on file for when the program can resume. As soon as plans are solidified, the club plans to email to members in future as soon the can have weekly open gym nights.
The IKWF says there will be no sanctioned events during the 2020-21 IKWF season until the CDC and IDPH guidelines and policies change to allow such competitions. The organization expects members to follow the guidance and guidelines provided by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Clubs in violation of state and federal mandates were reminded in a release form organizing body that programs could face penalties by the IDPH and local health departments.
Members of the St. Joseph-Ogden Dance Team compete the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals in January. Despite an excellent performance and a score of 76.88, the Spartans did not advance to Saturday's championship round after finishing in 21st place after the first day of Class 1A competition.
The Illinois High School Association met once again in a virtual meeting to discuss how to proceed as the state enters Tier 3 of the Governor JB Pritzker's Resurgence Mitigation plan. Thousands of Illinois high school athletes will have to wait just a little longer to make to break a school record, make three-point shots or earn that 15 second pin on the wrestling mat this winter.
Earlier today the prep sports association announced that all IHSA sports and activities will cease as of Friday, November 20, until the state's COVID-19 positivity returns to a level safe enough that the governor will return the state to Tier 1 of its pandemic response plan.
Below is the complete release from the IHSA.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for a special virtual meeting on Thursday, November 19, 2020, where the Board provided an update on winter sports.
To maintain compliance with the most recent mitigations issued by Governor Pritzker that take effect on November 20, the IHSA Board issued guidance to pause all IHSA winter sports and activities by November 20.
"All IHSA sports and activities will cease by November 20 for what we hope is a short-term pause," said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. "Given the rising COVID-19 cases in our state and region, we support the Governor’s mitigations and believe it is imperative for everyone in the state to do their part in following them so that we can return to high school sports participation as soon as possible."
St. Joseph-Ogden's Ella Armstrong lines up a shot from the free throw line back in February against Tuscola. Armstrong and the Spartans will not be piling up wins until maybe sometime in 2021.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
The Board will revisit the status of winter sports at their update discussion on December 2, and again at their regularly scheduled meeting on December 14 if necessary.
"Taking into account the current state mitigations, the Board believes that early to mid-December will be the most reasonable target to review the status of winter IHSA sports and activities," said Anderson. "The Board is sensitive to the scheduling difficulties these delays create for athletic directors and coaches. However, our experiences this summer and fall lead us to believe that setting arbitrary start dates hinders the process even more. We realize it may seem redundant, but we have to preach patience as we await more data and direction from the state. Despite the obstacles this unprecedented school year has presented, the Board’s vision to provide participation opportunities in all IHSA sports has not wavered."
The Board was steadfast in their desire to remind all athletes and athletic programs that adhering to the mitigations is vital to the hopes of safely playing high school sports in Illinois as soon as possible.
"I believe there is a misconception that IHSA and non-school athletic programs have an adversarial relationship," said Anderson. "In my time at the IHSA, I have not found that to be the case at all. More so, I think there is a mutual respect for the opportunities that each provide for athletes. IHSA schools have been exemplary in adhering to state regulations throughout this pandemic and we are calling upon non-school programs to hold themselves to that same standard. As school and non-school sports temporarily cease in Illinois, and throughout the Midwest, it is a great reminder that putting the health and safety of our fellow citizens at the forefront in the short-term will allow all levels of athletics to thrive in the long-term."
The Board provided the following participation clarifications to member schools:
Winter Season Start Date: Given the timing of the Governor’s new mitigations, November 16 will not be recognized as the start date of the winter season, regardless of whether winter sport teams conducted any official tryouts or practices. A new start date will be established for each sport once winter sports can be conducted again.
Conditioning & Weight Training: Conditioning and weight training before and after school are paused. Local schools will decide if conditioning and weight training programs that are a part of their academic curriculums continue or are ceased.
Open Gyms: Are paused and cannot be conducted at this time.
Outdoor Workouts: Outdoor workouts may be conducted in any sport in groups of 10 or less with masks and social distancing. Coaches are counted toward the 10. Use of sport-specific equipment is allowable with proper sanitizing practices.
One-on-One Skill Work: Per Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations and with school approval, one-on-one skill work between a coach and student-athlete is permitted for winter sports only, but is limited to one coach and one student-athlete per facility.
Activities: Practices and competitions may only be conducted virtually.
Non-School Participation: All sports organizations in the state, school or non-school, have been directed to abide by the Governor’s mitigations. IHSA coaches cannot organize non-school participation in any fashion. IHSA by-law 3.100 will be in effect once winter sport seasons begin following this pause.
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