What is the IESA?

The Illinois Elementary School Association is a governing body that offers organized, state-level sport and activity competitions for elementary schools. middle schools, and junior high schools. The IESA sponsors a state series composed of Regional, Sectional, and State tournaments in the late Spring. Regionals, Sectionals, and State make up a single tournament series, in that only the champions at Regional tournaments advance to the Sectional tournaments, and only Sectional champions advance to the State tournament.

The IESA maintains Terms and Conditions that govern the state series; the Rule Book that explains how a match works; and the Casebook that illustrates the rules and their application. All three of these documents can be downloaded from the “Documents and Links” tab of the IESA’s scholastic bowl page.

A seven-coach Scholastic Bowl Advisory Committee meets annually in May to work with the IESA on scholastic bowl issues such as rule changes. Advisory Committees for each IESA sport and activity give recommendations to the Board of Directors.

The IESA’s mission statement, posted on their website, is:

The IESA provides the leadership and framework to ensure safe, equitable opportunities for students who are enriched through participation in education-based interscholastic activities.