It appears to be game on for region’s high school bowling, boys swim teams

Ottawa, La Salle-Peru, Streator, St. Bede among Region 2 teams beginning practice

It’s been nearly three months since Illinois high school student-athletes in any sport have been able to get together and practice with more than wishful hopes those practices will lead to competition.

For a small handful of sports – those deemed low-risk by the Illinois Department of Public Health contested in this area, girls and boys bowling – that wait appears to finally be over, and La Salle County’s high schools that offer prep bowling are getting ready.

Streator and Ottawa have already opened bowling tryouts/practices, La Salle-Peru will open practice Wednesday, and St. Bede plans to as well in the coming days as a target date as early as later this month is expected for the 2020-21 school year’s first winter season competition to begin.

Boys swimming, too, is set to begin with the La Salle-Peru Cavalier co-op’s practices beginning Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. at the school’s pool.

Other traditional winter sports such as basketball are still on hold, although practices – for the time being deemed “contact days” – are resuming. Basketball was reclassified as high-risk by the Illinois Department of Public Health shortly before the season was scheduled to begin, and at this time high-risk sports are allowed only to practice, not compete.

Wrestling, another traditional winter sport, has already been postponed until late spring by the IHSA as part of its COVID-created summer season.

Last week, the IHSA announced it expects to review its season schedules at its Jan. 27 board meeting.