After a year filled with uncertainty, winter sports are being postponed until a later, tentative date sometime during or after January, according to the IHSA website. There are still a few obstacles to overcome but there is a plan to move things forward, the IHSA website said.

The IHSA reports it is preparing to restart low-risk sports such as boys and girls bowling, boys swimming, girls gymnastics, competitive cheerleading, and competitive dance as soon as possible, while the higher risk sports such as boys and girls basketball and wrestling are being postponed to an undetermined date.

These new circumstances have raised numerous questions and have “been hard,” Ashley Geisler, senior and varsity basketball player said. “We’re going to have to play with masks, we’re going to have to be socially distanced, and we actually don’t know when our season starts. So that’s a little different because it was already supposed to be going on. We would already be almost halfway through the season by now.”

Winter sports were originally scheduled for  November 16 to February 13;  however, after the spike in COVID rates, IHSA decided to change the dates for the season, according to the IHSA website. 

“We did have tryouts for one week and then everything got called off,” Lilliana Perez, senior and varsity bowler said. “According to my coach we should be starting after winter break, [that] is the hope. All the bowling alleys are closed now, so there’s no way for us to practice and do anything”

But these changes will not only affect practices; as of now there are also “no scheduled competitions,” Perez said. In fact, competitions may look entirely different, according to Perez.

“Before everything got shut down my coach and the athletic director were talking about doing completely remote matches. So everybody goes out on their own, there’s no meeting with any other schools, which I think has its pros and cons because it’s safer for the teams, but it also makes it harder to compete in my opinion,” Perez said. “It’s a little upsetting since it’s my final season playing in high school, but I understand the reasoning behind canceling it. I definitely would rather us be on the safe side, and not compete than putting not only our team but also other teams at risk for getting COVID.”

Since communication is a big factor for the team, they have been trying to stay as connected as possible through zoom meetings, according to Perez.

“My coach makes us join meetings three times a week: Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So I meet with my team on zoom for about 45 minutes to an hour and we do activities together,” Perez said. “[I’m looking forward to] just spending some time with my team, I’ve grown really close with a lot of girls, these past couple years and there’s also a couple of new people joining so I really like to get to know them.”

Similarly, the girls basketball team has also been staying connected in their own way, according to Geisler. “We text each other and we catch up and make sure everyone’s doing okay. We are trying to think of something to do where we can be socially distanced outside to practice,” Geisler said. 

Although the plans for winter sports are not clear, Geisler has high hopes for the upcoming season, she said.

“I was really excited for this year, because it’s my senior year, and it still feels like a big year for us,” Geisler said. “My hope is just that we have a season. It does suck though, because there’s a lot of uncertainty with it. But as long as we have a season, it’s good with me.”