November 9, 2020
On Monday, November 9th, the Superintendents of the River Valley Conference met to discuss the IHSA competitive basketball season for both male and female athletes. Our meeting took place in light of Governor J. B. Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Department of Public Health designating basketball as a “high risk” sport rather than a “medium risk” sport and as such, encouraging high schools to not play basketball at this time.
Our discussion produced three decisions:
The River Valley Conference will abide by the State recommendations regarding basketball competition. We will not begin the basketball season on Monday, November 16 as proposed by the Illinois High School Association.
At the current time, the Governor deemed basketball as a “high risk” sport. In addition, the Illinois State Board of Education has informed public school superintendents to abide by the IDPH rules and regulations, which prohibit participation in a high risk sport. Therefore, we will abide by the guidance from IDPH.
As a conference, basketball practice will begin two weeks prior to any scheduled contests, whether before a delayed winter start or a start date later in the school year. If a compromise is reached by IHSA and IDPH, the River Valley Superintendents will immediately meet again to determine the next course of action.
Submitted by Superintendents/Directors of River Valley Conference