IHSA Offers Guidance on Contact Days

Football will not be played in the fall for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), but the state’s high school governing body has offered guidance on “contact days” for high-risk sports like football.

According to a report from WAND NBC-17, the “Fall Contact Period”, a voluntary period for students and coaches who are not in season to practice from Septemeber 7 through October 31.

Coaches are allowed 20 contact days at maximum where tey can give instruction specific to their respective sports. Additionally, the IHSA document said it will allow continued use of open gyms and open weight rooms in this period.

“As a reminder, the Fall Contact Period is an optional period of participation for students and participation or lack thereof during this time cannot be used as criteria for the selection of a school’s team during the team’s established season,” the IHSA said.

Both student-athletes and coaches are required to wear masks for contact days that take place indoors while masks are required outdoors, but now when social distancing parameters can be invoked or are taking part in strenuous activity.

According to the IHSA, high-risk sports like football, wrestling, lacrosse, competitive cheerleading and dance, cannot hold intra-squad scrimmages but are allowed to have no-contact training sessions.

Medium-risk sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, water polo, wheelchair basketball, and 7 on 7 football, are allowed intra-squad scrimmages if parents give consent for their children to take part.

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Scrimmages are fully allowed in low-risk sports, which include baseball, softball, badminton, bowling, gymnastics, sideline spirit, boys swimming & diving, boys tennis, and track & field.

The guidelines for contact days from the IHSA were approved on July 29.

To read the full story from WAND NBC-17, click here. And to read the full release from the IHSA on contact day guidelines, click here.