SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced COVID-19 safety guidelines for youth and adult rec sports, and it’s not good news for football enthusiasts.
The state has broken up all sports into three categories of risk: “lower,” “medium,” and “higher.”
There are four levels of play, based on current public health conditions.
In level one, non-contact practices and scrimmages are allowed only.
Level two allows for intra-team scrimmages with parental consent, but there can be no competition.
Level three permits intra-conference, intra-region, and intra-league play. State and league championship games are permitted, so long as low risk of contact.
In level four, everything is back to normal.
Football is considered a sport of the highest risk category, and that category allows only for level one play.
“This virus is unrelenting, and it spreads so easily, no amount of restriction seems to keep it off the playing field or out of the locker room,” Pritzker said.
“It’s very painful, frankly, for all of us to make this realization, but with rising rates of spread of the virus, with rising positivity rates throughout Illinois, this is a situation where the toughest choice is also the safest choice.”
The guidelines take effect on Aug. 15. They do not apply to collegiate or professional sports in the state.
Sports are broken down as such:
Highest
- Football
- Boxing
- Competitive Cheer
- Competitive Dance
- Hockey
- Lacrosse
- Martial Arts
- Rugby
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Wrestling
Medium
- Basketball
- Fencing
- Flag or 7 on 7 football
- Paintball
- Raquetball
- Soccer
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
- Wheelchair Basketball
Lower
- Archery
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Bass fishing
- Bowling
- Climbing
- Crew
- Cross country
- Cycling
- Disc Golf
- Scholastic golf
- Gymnastics
- Horse riding
- Ice skating
- Ropes courses
- Sailing/canoeing/kayaking
- Sideline spirit
- Skateboarding
- Softball
- Swimming/diving
- Tennis
- Track and field
- Weightlifting
Since Pritzker’s announcement, the Illinois High School Association said it will move football, boys soccer, and girls volleyball, from fall to spring, with a targeted start date of Feb. 15.
