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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --January 11, 2001
Contact: John Johnson or Andy Frushour-- 517.332.5046

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Jan. 11 - A day of educational opportunities for coaches, officials and athletic administrators will precede this year's Women In Sports Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the first weekend in February.

On February 3, the day before the general conference opens, the MHSAA will again conduct its annual Program of Athletic Coaches Education (PACE) at two levels. PACE provides training in legal responsibilities, prevention and care of sports injuries, physical conditioning, planning and evaluating instruction, motivation of student-athletes, positive coaching and MHSAA regulations. Level I is the basic program, and Level II deals with advanced topics. Registration for PACE is $50 per individual for the Level I seminar, and those who have completed Level I may register for Level II at a cost of $25.

In addition, the MHSAA is providing, for the first time as part of the WISL weekend, training for officials and athletic administrators.

TWO-DAE is the acronym for: Trained Women Officials - Dedicated, Accomplished, Educated, the title of a day-long workshop designed to assist new female officials and females interested in becoming registered high school game officials, learn the tools of this avocation. TWO-DAE will feature the six-hour Rookie Official Training Program intended to help participants understand officiating mechanics, study basic rules, explore the psychology of officiating and review the elements of professionalism in officiating. The cost of the TWO-DAE clinic is $30.

For individuals who are new school athletic directors or interested in becoming an athletic director, the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) will be offering the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Leadership Training course. The four-hour session has a registration fee of $79 and the presentation will focus on daily duties of an athletic director.

For more information about pre-conference activities, contact the MHSAA at 1661 Ramblewood Drive, East Lansing, MI 48823. Telephone: 517/332-5046. E-Mail: [email protected].

Magician-storyteller Stephen Bargatze headlines the major speakers for the 13th annual Women In Sports Leadership Conference, which will take place at the Sheraton Lansing Hotel, February 4-5. Bargatze will deliver an address "Magic With A Message," to the opening general session, which will be attended by over 500 people on February 4.

The other keynote speakers for this year's conference are Michigan native Kathy DeBoer, associate athletic director at the University of Kentucky. The former standout athlete at Michigan State University will be the banquet speaker on the first day of the conference. The other general session speaker will be Title IX specialist Val Bonnette of Good Sports Inc., who will talk the morning of the second day of the conference.

"IN SYNC! Healthy Mind, Healthy Body" is the theme for this year's conference, providing a focus for the administrators, student-athletes, coaches and officials in attendance. As in past years, registration for the nation's first and longest-running program of its type is limited to 500. (NOTE - Media registration is complimentary - A copy of the WISL brochure can be viewed on the MHSAA Web Site)

One of the top attractions for of the conference will be a Student Leadership Workshop each day, conducted by David Dye of Ruster Student Services of Sturgis.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,300 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

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