The Effingham St. Anthony basketball season will start on time. The move was approved by the Diocese of Springfield, school pastor and school board, according to Bulldogs athletic director Kevin Palmer. St. Anthony is in the minority so far, with most area schools voting to either put their season on hold or cancel all together. That latter group includes fellow Catholic schools, Schlarman and St. Thomas More in Champaign. Those two schools are under the Diocese of Peoria, which made its decision last week.
Fellow National Trail Conference school Altamont is also planning to play this season, after the IHSA announced on Oct. 28 the season would start on time. It followed an announcement from Gov. Pritzker and the IDPH, moving boys’ and girls’ basketball into the ‘high risk’ category, putting the season on hold. Now it’s up to each individual school district whether or not to proceed playing or wait until the sport is moved back into a ‘medium risk’ category. Under high risk protocol, no games, scrimmages or contact practices can happen.