The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) released an official statement cancelling all spring state tournaments after a video conference call on Tuesday, April 21. 

“We support the decision by Governor Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education, and given the logistics, we simply felt we could not conduct state tournaments that meet the expectations of our member schools this spring, ” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in the IHSA COVID-19 Update. “As disappointing as it may be for students, it is the right decision for their health and safety, as well as for the health and safety of the general public, as we cope with this unprecedented pandemic.”

While this decision was not a surprise for most athletes, it was still disappointing to officially hear the call, varsity girls soccer goalie Sophie Grabis ‘20 said. 

“Although I knew we would not be able to get back on the field this spring, it still hurt to hear it officially,” Grabis said. “After being injured and not playing the final third of our season last year, I wanted to get back on the field and show my resilience. I also was looking forward to having a fun and successful last season with my team. From the first day of practice, I knew that this team would have been something special. We all clicked and played super hard. I’m sad we cannot show that on the field by creaming Hinsdale or Downers Grove North.”

While state tournaments are cancelled, the IHSA is open to considering if there are any opportunities for schools to conduct spring athletic events in any way in the future. Currently, the board decided to also suspend any summer contact days this year until stay-at-home and social distancing orders are lifted. 

“It sucks—there really isn’t just one feeling to describe it,” baseball player Harry Kowalski ‘21 said. “We trained all year for this season just for it to be cancelled. I’m also disappointed that I won’t get to play with the seniors this year. I don’t believe the summer training suspension will have an affect on training for next year. We usually build our bond as a team throughout intramurals and practices. Even though we won’t be able to train [together] for awhile, we are all training everyday so once the IHSA lets us play, we will be ready.”

If state government and medical leaders determine gatherings are safe, the IHSA will provide schools with outlines detailing the summer contact day schedule as well as possibly hosting spring athletic events.

“We actually had a zoom call today talking about things we could do together to still have some kind of a season,” Grabis said. “We think we still want to do something with our annual Pink Out and some kind of Senior Day will occur, but we are still unsure what we will do. We can’t do anything in person really until the state says we can. I have heard some rumors about games in June and July but I am not sure how true those are.”

To see the official IHSA statement, go to https://www.ihsa.org/default.asp.