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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-October 8, 2003
Contact: John Johnson, Andy Frushour or Randy Allen
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Oct. 8 – The success the Michigan High School Athletic Association and its member schools have enjoyed in promoting sportsmanship as a defining element of educational athletics has been a combined effort of statewide and local energies.

The Association has conducted some of the nation’s largest single-day Sportsmanship Summits, the last occurring in the fall of 2002; and complementing those events in alternating years with a mini-grant program, assisting schools, leagues and conferences in their staging of local sportsmanship events.

Again this year, mini-grants will range from $50 to $500, with a total of $12,000 available; half of that amount being underwritten by a grant from MEEMIC Insurance, the MHSAA’s corporate partner in sportsmanship efforts.

In the first year of the mini-grant program in 1999-00, a total of $13,500 was provided to support 46 events around the state; and the last mini-grant program in 2001-02 saw over $12,720 provided to support 39 events.

“Efforts at the local level are the day-to-day work which makes sportsmanship grow,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “The hands-on work of our administrators and teacher-coaches is what describes and demands that sportsmanship is placed above all other outcomes in school sports. That’s why the MHSAA continues to support individual schools and leagues with educational and financial resources.

“We are appreciative of the support of MEEMIC Insurance provides to make this happen,” Roberts continued. “MEEMIC’s underwriting of our mini-grant program and Sportsmanship Summits in alternating years, plus its support of the Good Sports Are Winners! campaign, puts Michigan at the forefront nationally in sportsmanship education and recognition.”

MEEMIC will again recognize schools displaying outstanding sportsmanship in the following MHSAA post-season tournaments in 2003-04 at the District, Regional and Final levels: Girls basketball, football and boys soccer in the fall; boys basketball, girls competitive cheer, ice hockey, girls volleyball and team dual wrestling in the winter; and baseball, girls soccer and softball in the spring. All schools which achieve a high level of sportsmanship will be recognized at the District and Regional levels of tournament play, and at the Finals level, one or more teams displaying exemplary sportsmanship may be honored with a crystal trophy and commemorative banner. Tournament site management will be responsible for selecting teams to be recognized.

MEEMIC Insurance Company, with headquarters in Auburn Hills, writes full coverage private passenger automobile protection and homeowners insurance for educational employees and their immediate families in the state of Michigan. MEEMIC was founded by teachers, for teachers, in 1950. Most representatives of the company are or were teachers themselves. MEEMIC's history of competitive pricing and a commitment to superior service has cultivated a tradition of teachers serving teachers and their families, our "MEEMIC Club."

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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MEDIA ADVISORY - For additional information about MEEMIC, contact Mike Post, Director of Sales & Marketing, toll free at 888-4MEEMIC (463-3642), Ext. 7544.

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