On January 19, the IHSA approved a plan that will allow winter sports, with the exception of boys and girls basketball, to begin playing. The Illinois Department of Public Health moved some suburbs as well as Chicago into Tier 2 which allows for high school athletes to compete. Schools in Phase 4, Tier 1, and Tier 2 can conduct training with masks along with following social distancing guidelines. Students, as well as staff, need to be as safe as possible when resuming back to competing in sports by following COVID safety guidelines.

So what does that mean in terms of Niles North sports? Here is what we know so far regarding information sent out by our Athletic Directors on January 20:

All, 

On Monday, January 18th, Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) lifted the Tier 3 Mitigations in Region 10, which had paused our Winter Sports. As a result, we will resume all low-risk Winter Sports beginning on Thursday, January 21st (Girls Badminton, Girls & Boys Bowling, Girls Gymnastics, Boys Swim & Dive, Cheer, and Dance). Your individual coach will reach out with more specific information. 

District 219 Athletic Departments will continue to follow IDPH and IHSA Guidelines as our Winter Sports resume. It is imperative that all student-athletes communicate any Covid-19 symptoms to their coaches before attending any practices. Student-athletes must also be 

registered on the 8 to 18 website and have a current physical (conducted in the last 13 months) in order to participate in Winter Sports. 

As a reminder, here are the Athletic COVID Safety Protocols for our Winter Sports. 

Within the next two weeks, the IHSA will provide start and end dates for all sports that have yet to participate, as well as important guidelines for “contact days” (similar to this Fall). As we finalize our revised competition schedules for Winter Sports, we will begin to explore options for contact days for our student-athletes beginning in February. We will communicate information to student-athletes and families as it becomes available. 

As a reminder, please make sure you are registered for your specific sport HERE. You can also find a list of all Head Coaches and their contact information HERE. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Head Coach of each sport or the Athletic Directors (emails listed below). 

Brett Bildstein ([email protected])

Danae Russell ([email protected])