Coronavirus affecting high school sports activities

The coronavirus pandemic has begun to affect high school sports across the suburbs and statewide.

In the wake of the Illinois High School Association's announcement Thursday morning that attendance will be restricted at all further state series events, including the ongoing boys basketball tournaments, several other developments have taken place.

In addition to Aurora Christian and Timothy Christian playing in the Class 1A and Class 2A state final tournaments in Peoria on Friday and Saturday, Class 3A and Class 4A sectional finals are scheduled for Friday night at Rockford Boylan (Hampshire vs. Wauconda), Grayslake North (St. Viator vs. Niles Notre Dame), Addison Trail (Lake Park vs. Naperville Central), Prospect (Stevenson vs. Mundelein) and McHenry (Cary-Grove vs. St. Charles North).

The Class 4A sectional at Hinsdale South was postponed Wednesday night (Benet vs. Hinsdale South) due to a “potential student health emergency” and no further information has been released as to the status of that sectional.

With the IHSA's mandate of no more than 60 fans per school at upcoming state and sectional games, there has been the following plans from host venues and reaction from participating schools.

•Hampshire is giving its tickets to immediate family members of the coaching staff and roster.

•From Boylan AD Paul Heitkamp: Each school is supplying us with a list with 60 names on it. They will have a school administrator present at our admission door to help with who they are.

•Lake Park is providing a pass list to Addison Trail in three categories. A. Parents and guardians of players and managers on the playoff roster. B. Coaches, families and guests. C. Then administration. (“We'll limit those numbers because we won't have a thousand kids there,” athletic director Pete Schauer said).

Lake Park has had “No larger conversation about spring sports or after-school activities,” Schauer said. “We're appreciative the IHSA has taken actions to allow them to play and is proceeding with the necessary precautions.

•For Aurora Christian's tickets from AD Dan Beebe: Immediate families only for players and coaches. Mom, dad and siblings.

•Jack LeGrand, Timothy Christian athletic director: “I feel absolutely crushed for our kids and the community.

“My plan right now as the athletic director is I'm going to get the tickets and buy them directly as Timothy Christian's representative. Then all the parents, which are 60 of them, I've instructed them to find me and I will be the box office manager. They will pay me and I will hand them their tickets.

“Our entire Timothy community has been affected by it. But the majority will watch on television and cheer from there, that's all.

“I feel just heartbroken for everybody. It's just so sad.

• Andy Lutzenkirchen, Naperville Central athletic director: “Right now it is mom and dad only, and then essential personnel — myself, I believe we'll have our principle (Bill Wiesbrook) and we will ask to have a dean there. Then after that coaches and family, then once we get through that we'll open it up to family. Almost immediate family will be it.

“We're going to make sure that it's (the game) put out on the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) webcast so that people can watch it. It won't be an ESPN production, but they'll at least be able to follow a basketball up and down the floor.”

• Elk Grove sectional, Bob Murphy, host manager: “Each school allowed to bring 60 fans They will be sending us a list. I have heard from IHSA that 3-point contest is on. No general public.

“We will have just one way to get in. Each school will send a list to get in. They will have to present ID to get in.

“Things are happening fast. We are just the host school. All the decisions are being made by the IHSA.”

•Matt Thompson, AD at Addison Trail: “Each school is providing me with a list of the 60 people that will check in with us at our gate. IDs necessary such as a driver's license. Same number of people working. Except an extra ticket taker. Downsizing and supervision. Keeping police and score table. Limited concessions. No hot dogs or pizza. Prepackaged food only.”

• From Prospect official Frank Mirandola: “Administrators from each school will be checking in their guests at a specific entrance, provide them with a wristband, and then grant them access to the Jean Walker Field House. Sixty wristbands will be provided per school.

“Each school has been given an allotment of 60 spots on the guest list per the IHSA. The participating schools will work with their athletic administration to designate the names using a site-based selection criteria.”

•Tina Woolard, Grayslake North athletic director: “It's a work in progress. We have been on the phone and in emails constantly since we got information from the IHSA. IHSA is telling the schools participating that they need to come up with their list of 60 people who are allowed to be here from their schools. The schools need to submit those lists to us and those are the only people who will be allowed to be here, other than the workers we have that are conducting the event, the officials, the teams playing, the coaches and certified media. People on the list will need to show us driver's licenses or ID's for identification.

“No one from the area who just wants to come to the game will be allowed in. Not even people from our school can come watch. Even our teachers are not going to be allowed in. It's strictly if you are working the event or if you are on the list.”

When asked about cheerleaders, Woolard said, “I'm not sure yet. I'm trying to get an answer from IHSA because I do not know if they take up part of the 60 or not. That's a question on my list.”

Woolard went on to say: “It presents the challenge of managing, 'OK, you're allowed in, you're not allowed in. That's very different than normal games where we encourage as many kids and fans as possible to come, especially for a large event like this, a sectional final game. We are trying to get the game live streamed so that people who can't be there or who are not allowed in the venue can watch the games. But livestreaming isn't something we are set up to do on a regular basis so it's trying to get the personnel and equipment to do that for the convenience for other people.

“It's also about the amount of workers we have planned. Do we need to decrease the workers because there won't be as many fans there or do we need to increase them because we will need to be managing a lot of different things now? It's trying to come up with those logistics. It's (concessions). OK. Now we don't need all the pizzas we ordered. It's all of these other parts. It's trying to make sure we have the proper people without overwhelming this.”

Additionally, District 214, of which Elk Grove and Prospect are a part of, tweeted that all extracurricular activities have been canceled through the end of spring break. However, Murphy said Friday's sectional final game at Robert Morris University would be played as scheduled.

John Radtke, Orrin Schwarz, John Lemon, Patricia Babcock McGraw, Kevin Schmit, Dave Oberhelman and Dick Quagliano contributed.