March 18, 2003
The member schools of the Illinois High School Association share in our nation's concern over what may take place in Iraq and around the world. President Bush has outlined a plan that includes the use of military force in the very near future. The threat of war is real, and it weighs heavily on our minds. There is naturally a concern for the welfare of our military personnel and for the security of our homeland.
The next few days are ones that are filled with uncertainty. In accordance with its general practice in times of conflict, the IHSA plans to conduct state championships in Class AA Boys Basketball and in Scholastic Bowl as scheduled this weekend at the Peoria Civic Center. All steps necessary to maintain security in the Civic Center will be taken. In addition, sectional tournaments in Drama and Group Interpretation are still scheduled to be held this weekend at six high school sites around the state.
In contemplating the road that may lie ahead, the final verse of H.V. Porter's poem, Basketball Ides of March, sounds as familiar today as when he wrote it in 1942:
With war nerves tense, the final defense
Is the courage, strength and will
In a million lives where freedom thrives
And liberty lingers still.
Now eagles fly and heroes die
Beneath some foreign arch
Let their sons tread where hate is dead
In a happy Madness of March.
While we do plan to continue with tournaments this week, those plans may change as circumstances change in the United States and throughout the world. We are monitoring this very fluid situation closely and are developing contingency plans for our events in case the circumstances in our great nation or around the world dictate a change in our plans.