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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-Aug. 23, 2002
Contact: John Johnson or Randy Allen
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Aug. 23 - The latest version of the Michigan High School Sports Record Book, available on the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Web Site at www.mhsaa.com/games/records.html is now available for downloads for handheld personal digital assistants (PDA's) and in its traditional PDF format.

The record book went online two years ago, available as a downloadable file which is updated annually, and as web pages in each sport maintained by MHSAA Historian Ron Pesch of Muskegon. Pesch updates the web pages on a regular basis, and some of the lists kept on-line are deeper than the lists which appear in print. The Record Book home page of the MHSAA Web site is one of the popular features, with and average of over 6,000 visits monthly.

The presence of the Record Book on the Internet has resulted in a substantial increase of submissions.

"We have always said that the Record Book would be a work in progress, and we've made a lot of progress since taking it online," said John Johnson, MHSAA Communications Director. "Once people see the lists on the Web site, it piques their interest, and they have a tendency to recall other performances that should be considered for inclusion on the list. This is the only way that we can continue to grow the Record Book, so we encourage people to visit that portion of the Web site, visit it often and report potential marks that currently don't appear on the lists."

Information about how to submit potential records is also available on the Web Site. Appropriate documentation, such as statistical summaries or newspaper clippings, should be provided. There's also an e-mail link to submit information or ask questions ([email protected]), but Johnson emphasized that it's necessary for all submissions to be properly documented.

"In the instant information age that we now live in, people submit a lot of potential records via the e-mail link on the site, but do it without any supporting documentation," Johnson said. "People also have an expectation that an instant message from them means the information will be updated on the Web site instantly. It hasn't been unusual for someone to send an e-mail to Ron one day with information, and then complain to him the next day because his on-line list wasn't updated with that information. It takes time to verify records, and Ron, as a volunteer, can't update the Web site daily. However, he has been updating it on a schedule that enables us to recognize the performances of teams and individuals in a more timely manner than we have been able to in the past. We encourage people to come back and visit the site often to view updates, but to have patience, especially if they didn't submit anything to support their claim to a record."

Visitors to the MHSAA Web Site can click a link on its home page called "Record Book" to go to a menu where they can click on the sport for which they wish to view records.

The MHSAA Web Site attracts over 3,000 unique visitors daily, and during post-season tournaments, that number increases to an average of over 5,000.

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.

(MEDIA ADVISORY - You can download the PDF or the Palm version of the Michigan High School Sports Record Book from the MHSAA Web site. We remind you that the most current version can always be found in HTML format. We encourage you to publicize the on-line record book, and the continual need for record submissions. Many thanks!)