By Neil Doyle
BLOOMINGTON – With Gov. JB Pritzker’s announcement Wednesday mandating masks for schools, face coverings will be required for all IHSA fall sport practices and contests that are conducted indoors.
According to an IHSA news release, this mask directive for indoor athletic events applies to student-athletes, coaches, officials, game personnel, and fans, regardless of the individuals vaccination status.
Swimmers and divers do not have to wear masks while competing, but must adhere at all other times. The masking directive also applies to any winter or spring IHSA sports that may be conducting open gyms, general conditioning, or weightlifting indoors.
There are no restrictions to scheduling or spectator limitations as a result of Wednesday’s announcement, nor are there any changes to the IHSA calendar for any sports, according to the release.
“Today’s announcement will not deter us from our mission of safely offering high school student-athletes in Illinois the opportunity to participate in sports and activities,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “Illinois high school student-athletes and coaches have been resilient in dealing with myriad mitigations and unexpected changes over the past year. We hope all Illinoisans do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 so we can quickly move beyond this and remove masks from indoor athletic events.”
Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]
