We’ve had an opportunity to meet with our governing body (TCYFL) to gather information about requirements/changes/etc. that would be in place for the 2020 season. At this time, TCYFL has decided to postpone the 2020 youth football season, and re-visit the possibility of playing in the spring. We fully support their decision, and understand that this is the best choice for our players and our community. We do hope to provide some additional clarity in our decision making, which is detailed below.

During the past few months, we’ve been gathering information from our vendors, suppliers, and facilities about availability of space, goods, and services. We have reviewed information available from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Illinois High School Association (IHSA), and USA Football, and extensively discussed the quality of experience possible for our kids in the midst of a pandemic, and we feel that at this time, we cannot participate in the 2020 season. The goal of GJB is to provide a quality football experience to our member families each year. Therefore, the decision to cancel from our perspective is necessary.

We know this contradicts our previous communication, that we would be playing this season. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities across the US, where new cases are being reported in large numbers. We feel the responsible thing to do is to do everything we can to reduce the spread. As a result, this means we cannot in good conscience play youth football the way it is intended to be played.

We understand that given the current global and state-wide pandemic, that our sports would look very different from what we know. However, we must also take into consideration the multitude of uncertainties that exist. Such uncertainty leads to potentially placing our program in an undesirable financial situation that could impact the future viability of GJB. As is expected in a decision like this, transparency is key and below are some determining factors that led us to our decision:

• TCYFL fall suspension. We are a youth football program that believes in sportsmanship and competition. We could not play a regular season, traveling from community to community, competing, without the support and organization TCYFL provides.
• Additional financial costs and responsibilities. Our program does have financial reserves available, however those funds are currently earmarked for future planned ongoing expenditures including mandatory equipment replacement, rent, insurance, and etc. Our registration costs for 2020 were determined and put in place prior to COVID-19. Therefore, the additional requirements for sanitation, preparation, ongoing maintenance of facilities and equipment were not factored into registration fees and would need to be funded from either direct fundraising or capital reserves.
• Additional operational requirements. Based on the requirements set forth by IDPH, IHSA, the CDC, and USA Football, there would be a need for additional staffing/volunteers to help facilitate daily/weekly tasks associated with sanitation, attendance and record-keeping, and monitoring social distance regulations to ensure our athletes, coaches, and families are kept safe throughout the season.
• Mandatory rule/requirement changes for our programs. Given the current state-wide requirements for social interaction – including strict limits on team composition and practice and game protocols (e.g. attendance control), the efforts required by all parties involved (board members and volunteers, coaches, athletes, and parents) would increase risk to all of our families and likely diminish the overall experience. 

Refund information for the 2020 season will be sent directly to those registered to play.

While we all would certainly love to see our kids playing football this year, we feel that doing so with so many uncertainties would not make for the fun or safe experience for everyone involved. We also will be discussing additional activities that we could potentially manage within guidelines, to keep our youth active and engaged in our football family.

Now, we are looking ahead to the 2021 season and are hoping that the global and local pandemic situation is materially improved at that time.

Any questions, comments, or concerns should be directed to board@grantjrbulldogs.com.

Please stay safe and healthy. Thank you for your time and consideration and we look forward to seeing you next year! 

Never Give Up - Family First - Work Hard, Play Hard

Warmest regards,
Your Grant Jr Bulldogs Executive Board