Highlights from August IHSA Board of Directors Meeting Recap
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for its regularly scheduled meeting, which included both virtual and in-person attendance, on Monday, August 23, 2021, where the Board approved the formation of an esports State Series and began a new era for the IHSA Boys and Girls Swimming & Diving State Finals at FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
ESPORTS STATE SERIES ESTABLISHED
The IHSA will hold its first-ever esports State Series in April of 2022 with the inaugural state tournament featuring three titles: NBA2K, Rocket League, and Super Smash Brothers.
“It is exciting any time that we can expand the IHSA mission by offering another opportunity for students to represent their schools in competition,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We appreciate the time and effort put forth by our staff and the committee members who helped get us to this point.”
Esports becomes the 10th activity offered by the IHSA, joining bass fishing, chess, debate, drama & group interpretation, speech, journalism, music, and scholastic bowl. The addition of esports brings the IHSA’s total State Series offerings to 41 total sports and activities.
“Not unlike when the IHSA added bass fishing, some may question how esports fits into the IHSA’s offerings, but we never wavered in our belief that we want to align the Association with the interests of our high school students,” said Anderson. “Research shows that there are educational, mental, and social benefits to having students compete for their high school in any activity or sport, so we look forward to Illinois high school students who are passionate about esports being able to enjoy those benefits.”
The IHSA’s esports State Series will be held during weeks 42 and 43 of the standardized IHSA calendar (April 17-April 30, 2022). The Association staff will begin the process of finding a state final host venue immediately and bring a recommendation to the Board later this year.
ACTION
1. The Board approved a recommendation to institute two measures related to member school adherence to the state’s current Executive Order 85 mandating masks. IHSA schools will not be allowed to participate in the State Series for a sport if they remain on Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) probation for non-compliance with the state mask mandate on the date of seeding (or the list of participant entry deadline) in that sport. Additionally, the IHSA staff has been directed to set appropriate timelines based on the schedule for each fall sport to begin relieving schools of their State Series hosting responsibilities if they are currently on ISBE probation due to non-compliance with the state mask mandate.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson:
“The IHSA Board of Directors did not look at this situation as being a pro-mask or anti-mask issue, nor did they view their ruling as any type of political stance. Setting aside their own personal opinions, they were unanimous in the belief that the IHSA is a rule-driven organization that should continue to align with ISBE rules for the good of its membership. The Board felt that not following the mandate was akin to a team picking and choosing what rules they were going to follow in a football game or volleyball match. Anecdotally, they shared a growing frustration among schools on how the scheduling process has been impacted by schools not following the mandate, which ultimately led them to set forth measures that they believe will help prevent some of those same issues from occurring during the postseason.”
