MHSAA August 2000 Bulletin

As stated in the May 2000 Bulletin, ballots for Representative Council elections will be mailed to principals of member schools from the MHSAA office Aug. 30, 2000. The ballots will be due back in the MHSAA office Sept. 13, 2000.

Eight positions for membership on the Representative Council will be up for election this fall. Vacancies for two-year terms beginning December 2000 will occur as follows: Class C-D Upper Peninsula and Northern Section L.P.; Class A-B Southwestern Section L.P., Southeastern Section L.P., and Northern Section L.P.; Statewide At-Large Junior High/Middle School, elected on a statewide basis; and Private and Parochial Schools.

In addition to the above named Representative Council positions, there are two Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee positions to be voted in September. A representative of the Class D schools and an Athletic Coach will be elected by the principals of the Upper Peninsula schools.

Look for the ballots and return them in time to be counted by the Board of Canvassers. Be sure you mark your ballot correctly and signatures are affixed in the proper places. Ballots must have two (2) signatures to be considered valid.

Following the due date of Sept. 13, 2000, the Board of Canvassers as provided in Article IV of the Constitution of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, will meet and declare the winners for the various vacancies.

In accordance with the approved nomination and election procedures, listed candidates have submitted their desire to run for a position by March 15, 2000. They have included an approval to serve from their respective Superintendent or Principal and have certified their qualifications to run for the office which they seek. No write-ins will be possible because each candidate must be approved by March 15 in order to run for a position on the Representative Council.

Statewide At-Large &SHY; Scott Grimes, Principal, Grand Haven High School; James Hilgendorf, Superintendent, Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools; Dennis Kniola, Administrative Assistant, Stevensville-Lakeshore Public Schools; William S. McLemore, Jr., Athletic Director, Burton-Bentley Community Schools; Paul N. Price, Superintendent, Republic-Michigamme Schools; Peter Ryan, CAA, Athletic Director, Saginaw-Heritage High School; Brian Zdanowski, CAA, Athletic Director, Greenville High School

Athletic Coach &SHY; John Croze, Boys Track Coach, Calumet HS; Brad M. Grayvold, Football Coach, Norway HS; Doug Ingalls, Basketball Coach, St. Ignace-LaSalle HS; Greg Jeske, Girls Golf Coach, Menominee HS; Mark Marana, Assistant Principal/Assistant Football Coach, Negaunee HS; Jim Martin, Cross Country/Track Coach, Sault Ste. Marie-Sault Area HS; Richard Mettlach, Football/Boys Golf Coach, Gwinn HS; George R. Peterson, III, Boys Basketball Coach, Watersmeet HS; Paul Polfus, Basketball Coach, Carney-Nadeau HS; Gerald S. Racine, Boys Basketball Coach, Ishpeming HS.

Accounts of Meetings - Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Randy Salisbury, to approve the minutes of the Representative Council Meeting of March 24, 2000, and the Executive Committee Meeting minutes of March 23 and April 19, 2000, and the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee Meeting minutes of April 7, 2000. Adopted.

The Representative Council reviewed the results of a January 2000 student-athlete survey conducted by the Minnesota State High School League. The results provided student perspectives regarding the positive and negative outcomes of interscholastic athletic participation and student attitudes regarding both in-season and out-of-season expectations for participation.

Legislation - The executive director reviewed progress of a bill in the United States Senate to outlaw gambling on high school, college and Olympic events in the states where sports wagering was grandfathered by 1992 legislation.

1. A bill has been introduced, passed the Michigan Senate and is now before the House Committee on gaming and casino oversight to amend the Michigan Penal Code to specify that the code's prohibitions against registered betting and the buying or selling of pools would not apply to a sports betting game based on the results of college or professional games in which a person who is 21 years of age or older wagers $10 or less with a payout of $1,000 or less.

2. Legislation has been introduced to amend the School Aid Act to give home schooled students the right to enroll in any course offered by the public school of their residence and to give students of other nonpublic schools the right to enroll in any elective course offered by the public school of their residence and the opportunity to enroll in any other course of that school if space is available. The legislation makes no mention of sports and does not intend to change athletic policies.

3. Due to a lack of support for a House Resolution calling on the governor to appoint a task force to study gender equity in high school athletics, the sponsor of that legislation is himself creating a "blue ribbon panel" to study gender equity in school sports. The MHSAA will participate.

Litigation - Attorney Edmund Sikorski indicated there had been no change in the status of two cases on which he had reported at the March meeting of the Representative Council. Mr. Sikorski reported that this has allowed counsel to focus on routine matters such as land development and risk management, which includes reviewing minutes of Executive Committee Meetings, selected correspondence and facility and insurance contracts, assisting the MHSAA with strategic responses to legislative initiatives and long-range forecasting of legal issues, and supporting the National Federation and other state high school associations with legal affairs that could impact the MHSAA.

The executive director described specific risk management initiatives in which the MHSAA staff is involved, including a review of insurance needs, the provision of a risk management manual to all MHSAA tournament managers, a formalized emergency communication chain for staff during fall, winter and spring season tournament times, and the review of all MHSAA publications to reduce risk of litigation.

Administration - The executive director reported that MHSAA membership during the 1999-00 school year reached 738 high schools and 555 junior high/middle schools as of April 1, 2000, increases of seven high schools and 16 junior high/middle schools from one year earlier. The number of high schools continues to increase each year. The number of junior high/middle schools reverses a five-year decline and may result from increased efforts to communicate to school districts regarding the benefits of MHSAA membership for schools at the junior high/middle school level.

Eligibility advancement applications were received and approved for 23 students during the 1999-00 school year, the lowest number in the history of this eligibility option, and identifying the need to promote awareness of this option more aggressively and comprehensively.

It was reported that 239 Educational Transfer Forms had been processed for the 1999-00 school year through April 7, 2000. This was a reduction for the second consecutive year. Public school to public school transfers continue to be the most common, and the divorce exception (No. 8) continues to be the most common reason for the Educational Transfer Form to be used, although there has been a significant decline in both of these leading categories over the past two years.

Out-of-State Travel Declaration Forms were filed by 56 schools during 1999-00, a substantial decline from a year ago and the second lowest total ever, identifying another area where more aggressive and comprehensive communication by the MHSAA may be necessary.

A listing of violations by schools and officials between April 15, 1999 and April 15, 2000 was reviewed. The number of schools with violations was 302, tying for the highest number ever; and the total number of violations was 457, the third highest total ever. Failure to rate officials continues to be the most frequent violation, occurring 265 times during the past year. Failure of the head coach to attend a rules meeting or pass the rules examination continues to be the second most frequent violation, occurring 100 times during the past year. There were 92 other violations, and 102 schools had multiple violations. The number of officials with violations during the 1999-00 school year was 53, compared to 51 the year before; and the total number of violations by officials was 59, compared to 63 the year before.

Council members were asked for opinions regarding the possibility of the MHSAA changing its role with respect to Athletic Director In-Service programs in 2001. Specifically, because of the increasing activity of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association in continuing education, it was suggested that the MHSAA conduct sessions only for new athletic directors and redirect time and energy toward even more involvement in coaches' education during the month of August when the Athletic Director In-Service training has been conducted. Several Council members expressed support for this change of focus in order to avoid duplication of MIAAA services and to provide increased assistance to schools in proving orientation to new and nonfaculty coaches.

The Program of Athletic Coaches' Education (PACE) was also reviewed. Attendance was up in all categories over 1998-99: Level 1 programs, Level II programs, College Level programs and total attendance. The preliminary schedule for 2000-01 was presented.

Council members were asked to comment on the current attitudes at the local level regarding certification of coaches. Many concerns were raised, including the impact that certification might have on the pool of available coaching candidates, labor relations and bargaining issues, liability for both individuals and school districts, financial impact on both individuals and school districts, the availability of trainers or training locations and the motivation of the organizations promoting coaching certification.

Assistant Director Bill Bupp reported that through April 30, 2000, there were 10,982 registered officials for the 1999-00 school year, a slight decline from the previous two years. The number of registered officials increased in five sports and declined in seven. Trends were especially disturbing in baseball, softball and basketball. In ice hockey and soccer, the number of officials was at a 10-year high.

Officials Reports for the spring 1999, fall 1999, and winter 1999-00 seasons were reviewed. In eight sports, there were no ejections of any personnel. Sports with the most ejections were boys soccer, football, baseball, boys basketball and ice hockey. The total number of ejections was 728 players, 125 coaches and 24 others.

Also reviewed by Mr. Bupp were events conducted by the MHSAA for officials this spring which included a meeting for representatives of Approved Associations (89 people from 46 associations attended), training of trainers (attended by 128 people in 7 sports), Michigan representation at the National Federation Leadership Conference in April (15 persons from Michigan attended), the 21st annual Officials' Awards and Alumni Banquet on May 13, and a meeting for Certified Assignors on May 23.

Tim Kolesar, Athletic Director at Ironwood-L. L. Wright High School; Greg Phill for the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association; Greg Miller and Kernie Gilliam for the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association; Mike Wieland, for the Michigan Interscholastic Ski Coaches Association.

The Representative Council had been provided materials regarding out-of-season policies and procedures, concerns over elite summer basketball, BCAM and AAU discussions, the three-player rule, and indoor track and field. Additional information on several of these topics was also provided.

Upper Peninsula Tournament Classification - Dan Flynn and Keith Alto, Representative Council members who serve on the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee, provided the proposals from the U.P. Athletic Committee for the reclassifcation of MHSAA tournaments in the Upper Peninsula. The proposal was that individual wrestling, girls gymnastics and boys and girls swimming and diving continue to be conducted in one division of all competing schools in a Final Meet only; that boys and girls tennis divide all sponsoring schools into two equal divisions; and that boys and girls cross country, track and field, and golf all be contested in three divisions with the Class A, B and C schools divided into two nearly equal divisions and all Class D schools competing as a single Division 3. Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Karen Leinaar, to approve the U.P. tournament classification as proposed by the U.P. Athletic Committee. Adopted.

Winter 2005 Tournaments - At its meeting in December, the Representative Council voted that the Semifinals and Finals of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament would not be conducted according to its regular schedule in the year 2005 when the Easter weekend would coincide. In March, the Council discussed this topic briefly. In April, the MHSAA surveyed schools to determine local policies regarding winter and spring breaks.

Ironwood-L. L. Wright, Bessemer-A. D. Johnston and Wakefield High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1) - These schools have sponsored a cooperative ice hockey program since 1992-93, which it is predicted will not survive because of insufficient student participation. These three cooperating schools requested waiver of the MHSAA requirement that all cooperating schools must be member schools of the MHSAA so that Hurley High School of Wisconsin might become the fourth school in the cooperative agreement and provide enough students to sustain a team. At its Feb. 16, 2000 meeting, the Executive Committee denied the request for waiver, indicating that waiver would exceed its authority because modifying for three institutions a rule which the Representative Council had adopted for all institutions might establish precedent that would change the rule for all.

The schools requested the Representative Council waive applicable regulations to permit the addition of a non-MHSAA member school to its cooperative program agreement and to allow this four-school cooperative team to enter the MHSAA Ice Hockey Tournament or, in the alternative, to permit the schools to join in a cooperative program hosted by Hurley High School and participate in the high school hockey tournament in Wisconsin.

The Council considered community demographics, enrollment comparisons with other schools, participation projections, policies regarding participation by 9th-graders in these and other schools, elements of the MHSAA Constitution and several Handbook regulations and interpretations.

Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Donald Weatherspoon, to permit the three Michigan schools to join in a cooperative program hosted by Hurley High School and to compete in the Wisconsin tournament if the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association allows. Defeated.

Buckley High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - On March 23, 2000, the school appealed to the Executive Committee the decision of MHSAA staff to not sign the Educational Transfer Form for an 18-year-old, 12th-grade student who relocated in January 2000 from Yuma, Arizona to Buckley. He is living at the residence of the athletic director, which is also the temporary residence of the superintendent and his wife and their son, who relocated from Yuma to Buckley earlier in January. The student participated in four seasons of football, three seasons of baseball and two seasons of basketball in Yuma but was suspended from further participation there as discipline for an incident that occurred at a school dance in December 1999.

At the March 23 meeting, the school's athletic director, the superintendent's wife and a lawyer for the student met with the Executive Committee to describe the student's family, social, athletic and scholastic life in both Yuma and Buckley, arguing that the student's best educational interests have been served by the transfer.

The Executive Committee noted that transfers in the second semester of 12th grade are rarely in the best educational interests of students. In this case, the transfer followed school disciplinary action that prohibited the student from further athletic participation at that school.

Furthermore, in this case, the student is enrolled in only three academic courses at Buckley along with being a student aide and taking a correspondence course. Therefore, the Executive Committee denied the school's appeal.

Buckley High School appealed to the full Council, citing that the student's participation and academic schedule were not inconsistent with the athletic code and regular curriculum for Buckley High School students.

Eau Claire High School (Regulation II, Section 8[C]) - The school failed for two consecutive years to have a representative at a Softball Rules Meeting, thus failing to meet a prerequisite for participation in the 2000 MHSAA Softball Tournament. At its April 19, 2000 meeting, the Executive Committee denied the request for waiver. The school appealed that decision and offered to compensate the MHSAA for conducting an additional meeting.

The Council discussed changes in administrative personnel in the school district, precedent for applying the entry requirement without exception, and especially extenuating circumstances when additional meeting opportunities have been provided for schools to fulfill the tournament entry requirement. Motion by Earl Rickman, supported by William Newkirk, to deny the request to waive the tournament entry requirement. Adopted.

Consent Package - Motion by Norm Johnson, supported by Earl Rickman, to approve the consent package of miscellaneous changes for the purpose of organization, clarity or updating, and to incorporate changes or Interpretations previously adopted by the Representative Council. Adopted.

Regulation I, Section 9 - Motion by Don Weatherspoon, supported by William Newkirk, to approve the following new Interpretation after 1999-00 Interpretation No. 58: "Even if Interpretation No. 58(b), (c) or (d) is not satisfied, when a student who has not been living with a parent or parents returns to live with that parent or parents in the same public school attendance area as before and reenrolls at the same high school he or she attended while living in that public school attendance area, the student is immediately eligible at the school to which he/she returns insofar as the transfer regulation is concerned (exception [2])." Adopted.

Regulation II, Section 11 - Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Karen Leinaar, to add a new Interpretation after 1999-00 Interpretation No. 194: "One day prior to the earliest allowable date of practice, schools may permit teams in any sport to assemble at a site other than the regular location of practice. School vehicles may be used." Adopted.

Regulation IV, Section 10 - Motion by Keith Eldred, supported by Eunice Moore, to approve the following new Interpretation after 1999-00 Interpretation No. 236: "If school districts choose to sponsor interscholastic sports competition for 6th or lower grades, it is recommended that those teams should not exceed the limitations of competition for grades 7-8 that are published in the MHSAA Handbook." Adopted.

Motion by Randy Salisbury, supported by Karen Leinaar, to approve the staff modification of the Athletic Equity Committee recommendation with respect to the prerequisites for MHSAA consideration of a postseason tournament in a sport, reducing the number of member schools' sponsorship from 70 schools to 64 and reducing the term from three consecutive years to two. Adopted.

In response to the Athletic Equity Committee recommendation that member schools conduct student interest surveys at least once every five years, motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Donald Weatherspoon, for the MHSAA to provide a survey instrument to school districts without a requirement as to the use or frequency of use of the survey instrument. Adopted.

The Council reviewed MHSAA committee qualifications and two specific questions. Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Eunice Moore, to reaffirm existing policies that (1) certified assignors may serve on MHSAA officials selection committees only if they are in at least part-time employment of a school or full-time employment of a league or conference of MHSAA member schools; and (2) officials who serve on sport committees must be administrators, faculty members or board of education members of MHSAA member schools. Adopted (no change).

Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Randy Salisbury, to (1) establish the Officials Review Committee as a standing committee for continuation of the purposes it has been serving; and (2) implement the following plan for the committee's make-up:

1. The committee would consist of 16 persons, 8 from leagues or conferences and 8 from approved officials associations. In each case, 1 of the 8 would come from each of the 8 zones identified in the MHSAA Officials' Guidebook.

In each case, appointments would be made by the MHSAA Executive Committee in August. The Executive Committee would assure that at least 50 percent of committee members are administrators, faculty members or board of education members of MHSAA member schools and that all sports are represented on a frequent basis. Otherwise, nominations for committee members could be made without regard to school affiliation in order to facilitate the participation of trainers and certified assignors.

The Council was supplied with a description of MHSAA committees, a list of schools which had not been represented on a committee for the past five years, a list of schools with five or more committee appointments over the past five years, a list of those who declined committee appointments during 1999-00, a list of those who identified themselves as candidates for committees in 2000-01, and a list of attendees at the 2000 MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Conference. Council members were encouraged to submit nominations for committees, making special efforts to provide nominations from small schools and any school which has not been represented in recent years. The staff will compile the suggestions and submit them to the Executive Committee for review and appointment at the August meeting of the Executive Committee. Names of committee members selected to serve during the 2000-01 school year will be published in the November 2000 Bulletin. The only exceptions are those committees involving the selection of tournament officials and award recipients.

Minutes of every MHSAA sport committee meeting had been sent to the Representative Council, and each of the recommendations of the committees to the Representative Council had been submitted to the Council for advance study. The following actions are in response to recommendations from sport committees and others which were not previously addressed at the Council's December or March meeting.

Baseball/Softball - There was discussion but no action taken regarding the Baseball/Softball Committee recommendation to permit reciprocal officials of other states to officiate MHSAA District Baseball and Softball Tournament contests and earn ratings within the MHSAA officials system.

Motion by Judy Raica, supported by William Newkirk, to take no action with respect to the River Valley Conference request to not implement the new bat rule of the National Federation of State High School Associations as scheduled for 2001 and to request the executive director to represent the Council's concerns to the National Federation Board of Directors in July. Adopted.

Basketball - Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Karen Leinaar, to approve the Basketball Committee recommendation to establish an ad hoc committee to study concerns and promote communication to all entities involved with out-of-season AAU and other competitions, to convene the ad hoc committee after hearing the results of meetings between the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan and the AAU, and to involve more than coaches and more than basketball in the study. Adopted.

Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Eric Federico, to approve the Basketball Committee recommendation to convene a panel to develop strategies to educate coaches and spectators who have misinformed perceptions regarding officials and to promote the need for professionalism of officials. Adopted.

Girls Competitive Cheer - Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Eric Federico, to communicate and continue to enforce the three-player rule as in the past and to not adopt the Girls Competitive Cheer Committee recommendation that would prohibit a coach of competitive cheer from coaching a sideline team in competition if more than three students on the sideline team were or will be in competitive cheer. Adopted (no change).

Cross Country/Track and Field - Motion by Dennis Kniola, supported by Dan Flynn, to approve the rescheduling of the MHSAA Regional and Final Cross Country Meets one week earlier, beginning with the 2001-02 school year. Adopted.

Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Keith Alto, to approve the Cross Country/Track and Field Committee recommendation that for the MHSAA Cross Country Tournament there be nine Regionals established in each of four divisions, from which would advance the top three teams to the Finals and all Regional medalists not advancing on teams would advance to the Individual Final Run as well. Adopted.

Football - Motion by Dennis Kniola, supported by Eric Federico, to approve the Football Committee recommendation to limit videotape scouting of MHSAA tournament games to the spectator stands or press box. Adopted.

Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Randy Salisbury, to approve the Football Committee recommendation that no changes in home and away designation of opponents within a district may be made after 10 a.m. on Monday following "Selection Sunday." Adopted.

Motion by Randy Salisbury, supported by Earl Rickman, to approve the Football Committee recommendation to permit on the football jersey commemorative or memorial patches that do not exceed four square inches and are located on the sleeve, shoulder or front (above the numbers). Adopted.

Motion by Karen Leinaar, supported by Dennis Kniola, to approve the Golf Committee recommendation to allow fall golf practice to begin Thursday the week before Aug. 15 and allow no fall golf competition before the following Monday and to allow no competition in spring golf until Thursday after the second Monday after March 1. Adopted.

Motion by Dennis Kniola, supported by Karen Leinaar, to approve the Golf Committee recommendation to recommend to schools that players who cannot submit an average nine-hole score of 65 not be entered in MHSAA Boys or Girls Regional Golf Tournaments. Adopted.

Girls Gymnastics - Motion by Randy Salisbury, supported by Eric Federico, to approve for the Lower Peninsula Finals only, the Girls Gymnastics Committee recommendation to require gymnastics judges to attend one of three clinics offered by the Michigan Interscholastic Gymnastics Coaches and Judges Association in order to meet the criteria to judge at the MHSAA Meet. Adopted.

Motion by Eric Federico, supported by Dan Flynn, to approve the Girls Gymnastics Committee recommendation to allow teams that qualify for Lower Peninsula Regional competition to enter five competitors in each event instead of the current four, as it is at the Lower Peninsula Final Meet. Adopted.

Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by William Newkirk, to approve the Girls Gymnastics Committee recommendation to allow one more team than the current 12 teams to qualify to the Lower Peninsula Finals if that team earned a Regional score of 140.0 or above and was not among the top three scoring teams in its Regional. Adopted.

Ice Hockey - In March of 1999, the Representative Council approved a proposal to continue the MHSAA Ice Hockey Finals at the Flint I.M.A. for four years, 2000-2003, with the first two years in the existing arena and the second two years at a new arena to be constructed adjacent to the existing arena. It was reported that there has been no progress with respect to the planning and constructing of the new arena and, therefore, the MHSAA staff has notified the management of the Flint I.M.A. that the association will consider all proposals for the MHSAA Ice Hockey Semifinals and Finals after the 2001 event, including continuing at the Flint I.M.A.

It was reported that ice hockey conduct concerns continued during the 1999-00 season with noticeable improvement in MHSAA Regionals. The associate director described plans to conduct a planning meeting on June 7 that would design next fall's voluntary orientation program for schools new to their sponsorship of interscholastic ice hockey.

Skiing - There was discussion but no action taken regarding the Ski Committee recommendation to advance four teams of each gender from each Regional to the Final Meet so that 24 boys teams and 24 girls teams would qualify for the Finals.

Soccer - Motion by Keith Alto, supported by Dan Flynn, to approve the Soccer Committee recommendation that for the Division 1 District which involves schools of the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, one site would be selected in the northern section and one site in the southern section to host all preliminary games, and that the District Final game would rotate from north to south, and that schools hosting preliminary games would not host the District Final game in the same year. Adopted.

Motion by Dennis Kniola, supported by Robert Riemersma, to approve the Soccer Committee recommendation that for the Division 4 District involving Beaver Island High School, the school would be allowed to host preliminary District games every four years, and the MHSAA and Beaver Island High School would each pay one-third of the visiting school's transportation expenses to and from the island. Adopted.

Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Tom Rashid, to approve one of the two additional options recommended by the Soccer Committee for schools hosting District games: the hosts may decide to host only the games the host school draws into the top line of the bracket and the Final game (the current format) or host all Semifinal and Final games. Adopted.

Swimming and Diving - Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Dan Flynn, that the Executive Committee appoint an ad hoc committee to examine three-player rule applications and alternatives in the sports recommended by the staff, and that this committee report its progress to date to the Representative Council at its meeting Nov. 29, 2000. Adopted.

Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Judy Raica, to not approve the Swimming and Diving Committee recommendation to conduct the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving Meets in three equal divisions, but to follow the process through surveys and the Classification Committee before the Representative Council's further consideration of such a proposal. Adopted.

Tennis - Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Earl Rickman, to not approve the Tennis Committee recommendation to have a cutoff date by which an accuser can report allegations of amateur regulation violations and have consequences placed on individuals if a violation is confirmed. Adopted (no change).

Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Earl Rickman, to approve the Tennis Committee recommendation to add a fourth doubles to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls and Boys Tennis Tournament format in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 only. Adopted. The Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee will determine the policy for the Upper Peninsula meets.

Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Randy Salisbury, to not approve the Tennis Committee recommendation to remove the restriction of no more than two scrimmages prior to the first contest; and in the alternative, to direct each sport committee during 2000-01 to examine scrimmage rule applications and alternatives and to make recommendations appropriate for each particular sport. Adopted.

Girls Volleyball - Motion by Norm Johnson, supported by Karen Leinaar, to approve the Volleyball Committee recommendation to permit schools to begin practice on the Thursday prior to the week of Thanksgiving. Adopted.

Motion by Earl Rickman, supported by Keith Alto, to not approve the Volleyball Committee recommendation to add two days of competition to the maximum of 12 allowed at the junior high/middle school level and allow three days of competition per week. Adopted (no change).

Motion by Karen Leinaar, supported by Randy Salisbury, to approve the staff recommendation to request National Federation permission to be among the states that experiment with limiting team substitutions to 15 and removing the limit on the number of times an individual may be substituted. Adopted. This would begin in 2000-01 for all levels of competition, for both regular season and MHSAA tournaments.

Motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Tom Rashid, to approve the staff recommendation that responsibility for selection of officials for MHSAA Volleyball District Tournaments be returned to those tournament managers. Adopted.

Wrestling - Motion by Karen Leinaar, supported by Dan Flynn, to approve the Wrestling Committee recommendation to increase the number of medals provided to District, Regional and Final champions in the Team Dual Tournament to be equal to the number of wrestlers weighed in. Adopted.

Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Norm Johnson, that for baseball, softball and volleyball, selected approved officials association trainers with the MHSAA rules meeting presentation and technology may provide up to two make-up meetings per zone. Officials who participate and score at least 85 percent on the closed-book examination administered by the trainer would qualify for an MHSAA post-season tournament assignment in lieu of attendance at an MHSAA conducted rules meeting.

Motion by Donald Weatherspoon, supported by Dan Flynn, to approve a modification of the Officials Review Committee recommendation that beginning with the 2005-06 school year for basketball, football and wrestling, and adding one sport per year thereafter, require that officials who are extended invitations to work MHSAA tournaments must be members of an approved association, and to provide an appeal or waiver process for persons who are not members of an approved officials association. Adopted.

Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Randy Salisbury, to approve the Officials Review Committee recommendation to allow officials to register as a "registered inactive official" for a period of time and at a cost to be determined so that when that official returns to active service, the official could qualify for District level tournaments if all other tournament assignment requirements have been made, effective with the 2001-02 school year. Adopted.

Motion by Eric Federico, supported by Dennis Kniola, to approve the Officials Review Committee recommendation to establish a recognition program for officials as they register for their 6th and 11th years of service and to provide an award for 40-year officials. Adopted.

In response to similar recommendations of the Athletic Equity Committee and Volleyball Committee regarding the Legacy Student Officials Program and MHSAA Executive Committee suggestions to review ways to recruit high school students as officials and then retain them after they leave high school, there was a motion by Dan Flynn, supported by Norm Johnson, to allow 12th-graders who are 17 years of age or older to register and work sub-varsity high school or lower level contests and, through the Legacy Program, allow 11th graders who are 16 years of age or older to work sub-varsity high school as well as 7th and 8th grade contests with their mentor, an approved official, effective with the 2001-02 school year. Adopted.

Calendar - Motion by Norm Johnson, supported by Eunice Moore, to approve the seven-year calendar of MHSAA events as presented and as revised for the sports of cross country and boys basketball as a result of actions earlier in the meeting. Adopted.

Trophies and Medals - Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Keith Eldred, to approve the Trophy and Medal Committee recommendations for the trophies and medals to be presented at MHSAA post-season tournaments for the years 2000-01 through 2003-04. Adopted.

Ramblewood Park Condominium - Motion by Tom Rashid, supported by Randy Salisbury, to receive the final accounting of the office park development project that commenced in 1995, and to commend staff for the execution of the plan, which met the best expectations for the new MHSAA headquarters building and the financing of that building, the land on which it sits, and the surrounding parcels of land, all of which have been sold to organizations which will occupy the buildings that they have constructed or will yet construct. Adopted.

Allen W. Bush Awards - The MHSAA Awards Committee presented 14 finalists for the ninth class of the Allen W. Bush Award. Each Representative Council member was requested to vote for as many of the nominees as he or she desired. Those selected for the award will be honored throughout the 2000-01 school year at local and state events important to the recipient.

Finance - Motion by William Newkirk, supported by Eunice Moore, to approve the 2000-01 revenue and expense budgets of $7,085,000 and $7,331,671, respectively, and a capital improvements budget that would result in reductions in cash of $149,021. Adopted.

Motion by Dennis Kniola, supported by Dan Flynn, for the staff to negotiate with Marsh Ridge Resort in Gaylord as the first choice and Sylvan Resort at Gaylord as the second choice for the spring meeting of the Council on May 6-8, 2001. Adopted. n

Executive Committee Authority and Responsibility - The Executive Committee was reminded of its authority under Article VII of the MHSAA Constitution and specifically its responsibility to consider each application for waiver of an eligibility requirement on its individual merits, determining if the regulation serves the purpose for which it was intended in each case or if the regulation works an undue hardship on any student who is the subject of a request for waiver. (These underlying criteria may not be restated for every subject of these minutes.)

The Executive Committee was reminded that it was the responsibility of each member school involved to provide sufficient factual information about the specific request for the Executive Committee to reach a decision without further investiga-tion. If information is incomplete, contradictory or otherwise unclear or has been received too late to be studied completely, the Executive Committee may deny the request for waiver or delay action. Such requests may be resubmitted to the Executive Committee with additional information at a subsequent meeting or appealed to the full Representative Council.

A determination of undue hardship is a matter addressed to the discretion of the Executive Committee within the educational philosophy and secondary role of voluntary extracurricular competitive athletics in the academic environment. The Executive Committee was cautioned to avoid making exceptions that would create precedent that effectively changes a rule without Representative Council action or local board of education adoption, which would exceed Executive Committee authority.

Consistent with rulings of the Attorney General and Michigan Supreme Court, schools are not bound by the decisions of the Executive Committee, but the Association may limit participation in the post-season tournaments it sponsors to those schools which apply rules and penalties as promulgated by the MHSAA and adopted by each member school's board of education. The MHSAA exercises no independent authority over schools or students during regular season.

Bridgman, Stevensville-Lakeshore, New Buffalo, Three Oaks-River Valley, Buchanan and St. Joseph-Lake Michigan Catholic High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[F]) - The Executive Committee approved the request to replace Berrien Springs, which has decided not to renew, with St. Joseph-Lake Michigan Catholic in the cooperative agreement for boys and girls swimming. The combined enrollment for 2000-01 MHSAA tournament classification purposes will be 2,577 (Class A).

Byron Center and Grand Rapids-South Christian High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[F]) - The Executive Committee approved a cooperative program in girls and boys swimming and diving for these schools, which have not sponsored the sport previously and whose combined enrollment for 2000-01 will be 1,426 (Class A).

Kalamazoo-Hackett Catholic Central and Portage-First Assembly Christian High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[E]) - The Executive Committee approved a cooperative program in football and boys golf, neither of which have been sponsored previously by First Assembly Christian. Hackett will be the primary school. The combined enrollment for 2000-01 MHSAA tournament purposes is 571, which will be Division 3 for boys golf and determined on Selection Sunday for football.

St. Johns and Pewamo-Westphalia High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[F]) - Request was made to waive the April 15 deadline for a cooperative program application by these schools for girls swimming and diving.

Wyoming-Rogers and Wyoming Park High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[F]) - The Executive Committee approved a cooperative program in girls swimming between these two schools, neither of which sponsored the sport previously and whose combined enrollment for MHSAA tournament classification purposes in 2000-01 is 1,565 (Class A).

Onsted High School (Regulation I, Sections 6 & 9) - Request to waive the undergraduate standing and transfer regulations was made on behalf of a foreign exchange student who completed the 11th grade and graduated from her secondary school in Columbia prior to enrolling at Onsted High School.

Muskegon High School (Regulation I, Sections 7 & 9) - Request was made to waive the previous semester record and transfer regulations on behalf of a student who is in her 6th semester since first enrolling in high school but was placed in the 10th grade when she enrolled at Muskegon High School at the start of the second semester of the 1999-00 school year. She attended Orchard View and Mona Shores High Schools during the first semester but received no academic credit. She was placed by the Family Independent Agency in the foster home of the Muskegon-Bunker Middle School principal, who lived in the Orchard View district and moved to the Mona Shores district.

Chelsea High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a 9th-grade student who attended Chelsea schools from 1990 until Sept. 1997, when he moved to his mother's residence and enrolled at Belleville High School. Because of an unstable home, he returned to the residence of his grandparents and reenrolled at Chelsea High School on Jan. 24, 2000. He played football at Belleville in the fall. At its March 23, 2000 meeting, the Executive Committee denied the request for waiver, noting that the student had resided for 2 Þ years with his mother and that the grandparents could not be considered the parents in this situation. The matter was resubmitted with additional details of the student's mother's situation.

Clare High school (Regulation I, Section 9[B]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility only at the sub-varsity level during the remainder of the 1999-00 school year was made on behalf of a 9th-grade student who relocated in November 1999 to his father in Farwell from his mother in Tawas where he did not participate in interscholastic athletics. The student experienced problems with peers at Farwell High School because of charges filed by this student's stepmother against a Farwell student.

Colon High School (Regulation I, Section 9[C & D]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a 10th-grade student who previously attended Burr Oak High School, which has a cooperative program with Colon High School in football in which the student was involved. He also participated in basketball and baseball at Burr Oak. He enrolled at Colon in early March. Absent information from Burr Oak High School that is required under this section, the Executive Committee tabled this item at its March 23, 2000 meeting. Burr Oak's information was received April 14, 2000.

The Executive Committee confirmed that the student is ineligible for the current school year, eligible for football only at the start of the next school year, and becomes eligible for all other sports after 90 school days of enrollment at Colon High School.

Dearborn Heights-Crestwood High School (Regulation I, Section 9[D]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility after 90 school days of enrollment at Crestwood High School was made on behalf of a student who enrolled at Crestwood on Nov. 15, 1999, after previously attending Dearborn-Divine Child.

Flint-Powers Catholic High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request was made to waive the transfer regulation on behalf of 9th and 11th grade brothers who have relocated from the residence of their father in Canton, OH to the residence of their mother in Fenton. The parents are divorced. When the students previously lived in Fenton, the older attended Powers Catholic and the younger attended St. John Catholic Elementary in Fenton. Flint-The Valley School is a closer nonpublic school.

Gobles High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a 10th-grade student who began 9th grade at Covert in 1997, and repeated 9th grade at Gobles High School in 1998. In October of 1999 she transferred to Bangor High School without a change of residence, and reenrolled at Gobles Nov. 1. She did not practice or compete in athletics while at Bangor.

Grosse Pointe South High School (Regulation I, Section 9[B]) - Request was made to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility at the sub-varsity level only during the remainder of the 1999-00 school year for a 9th-grade student whose birth parents' whereabouts are unknown and who had lived in Grosse Pointe until July 1999 when he moved to Florida to live with an aunt. He enrolled at Grosse Pointe South High School on Oct. 7, 1999 and is living with a couple who is in the process of adopting the student.

Highland-Milford High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request was made to waive the transfer regulation on behalf of a 10th-grade student who transferred within the district from Lakeland High School in January and would like to participate in track and field, for which there is not a sub-varsity program.

Holland High School (Regulation I, Section 9[B]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility only at the sub-varsity level during the remainder of the 1999-00 school year was made on behalf of a 10th-grade student who transferred from Texas on Oct. 20, 1999, relocating from the residence of his mother and new stepfather to the residence of his sister in Holland. He has not participated previously in high school athletics.

Hudsonville-Unity Christian High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - At the Feb. 16, 2000 Executive Committee Meeting, request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a 10th-grade student who attended Unity Christian's feeder school until the family was relocated from Hudsonville to Dallas for the student's father's employment. The student's father was being returned to the Grand Rapids area and the family intends to reside in the Hudsonville area. To facilitate educational continuity, the student was enrolled at Unity Christian on Jan. 28, 2000. The family had not yet secured housing in the Hudsonville area. It was expected the student's mother and younger sister would move to Hudsonville in early March and that the student's father would relocate in late March or early April.

At that meeting, the Executive Committee granted the request for waiver only at the sub-varsity level during the remainder of the 1999-00 school year and stipulated that the school must forfeit all contests in which this student participates if both his parents had not relocated their permanent residence to the Hudsonville area by April 15, 2000. The student would have eligibility at any level of competition when the parents have completely relocated their residence from Dallas to the Hudsonville area.

Marcellus High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request was made to waive the transfer regulation on behalf of a student who was placed in foster care on Jan. 17, 2000 in the Cassopolis School District in a home where the foster parent had sent her own children and other foster children to Marcellus Schools.

Marysville High School (Regulation I, Section 9[B]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility at the sub-varsity level only during the remainder of the 1999-00 school year was made on behalf of a 10th-grade student who relocated from her mother to her aunt and transferred from Portage Northern High School where she did not participate in any high school sports.

Mt. Pleasant-Sacred Heart Academy High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of an 11th grade student who enrolled without a change of residence on Jan. 17, 2000 in order to obtain a Catholic school setting, having previously attended Vestaburg.

Perry High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of an 11th grade student who transferred from Corunna to Perry on Feb. 14, 2000 because of depression following breakup with a girlfriend.

Suttons Bay High School (Regulation I, Section 9[E]) - Leland High School alleged that a 9th-grade student, who is ineligible under the transfer regulation during the second semester of the 1999-00 school year, transferred from Leland High School for athletic reasons and should be ineligible also for the first semester of the 2000-01 school year. The executive director concurred with the allegation, and Suttons Bay High School subsequently appealed this decision.

The superintendent and the student's parents met with the Executive Committee and focussed on curriculum differences between the schools in areas of the student's interest and aptitude, as well as scheduling differences that allowed additional academic opportunities for Suttons Bay students.

The Executive Committee denied the appeal, concluding that concern for the golf program at Leland was the first and foremost reason for the transfer, as was stated on the original transfer documents, and although other rationale for the transfer might have validity, it developed subsequent to the concern for golf and the submission of forms which so stated.

Madison Heights-Bishop Foley High School (Regulation I, Section 13[C]) - Request was made to waive the provisions that require a student to be withheld from at least the next three days of his/her school team's competition following that student's participation in non-school competition in a sport during the high school's season in that sport. In this case, the student was participating in an international soccer event for which insufficient documentation had been provided by the U.S. Soccer Federation to prove it was an "Olympic Development Program" and inadequate notice had been provided by her school to qualify for the exception to the limited team membership regulation for bona fide Olympic development or national team events.

There was concern that little separated this international tour from many other commercially exploitive enterprises available to students willing to raise funds to participate, and that it is unlikely that bona fide Olympic Development Programs would have such difficulty providing specific documentation of details and support from the U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Soccer Federation.

The Executive Committee assessed that the scheduling of this and other girls soccer events and the actions of state, regional and national personnel involved in girls and women's soccer was in violation of the Federal Amateur Sports Act.

With respect to the school, the Executive Committee did not accept the argument that the school was unaware of the rule, noting the principal had provided in March a letter of notification for a different student for a different international soccer event in May and June, 2000.

With respect to the student, the Executive Committee observed that by participating in the international tour, the student in question would exceed season game limitations even if she were withheld from the first three days of competition by her high school team after her return. Thus, her participation opportunities would not be restricted by application of the rule.

(1) MHSAA staff was directed to advise Bishop Foley High School administration that the minimum period of ineligibility for this student may be reduced from the student's first three days of competition to her first two days of competition after her return to the interscholastic team.

(c) the request for consideration must come in writing at least 90 days prior to the event from the highest levels of the national office of the U.S. Soccer Federation (not state or regional personnel), specifying the amount of financial obligation, if any, by student-athletes, the names of prospective players, and name, date and place of the event.

(3) MHSAA staff are to evaluate the event and notify the students' schools in writing at least 60 days prior to the start of the event and request from the schools the information required in Section 13(C) not less than 30 days prior to the event.

These requests were in addition to the Central States Schools for the Deaf Association Tournaments for which Interpretation No. 163-D allows travel beyond 600 miles round-trip and Regulation II, Section 11(G) 4 allows competition outside the MHSAA season once each year in girls volleyball and girls basketball.

The Executive Committee granted the request to waive both sections for the 2000-01 school year only and with the stipulation that the school's girls and boys basketball teams may not enter the MHSAA post-season Girls and Boys Basketball Tournaments in 2000-01.

River Rouge High School (Regulation V, Section 3[C]) - The Jan. 28, 2000 varsity boys basketball game at Belleville High School was ended with 3:41 remaining when the officials forfeited the game to Belleville after the head coach of River Rouge was ejected for two technical fouls, a scuffle occurred between players, and spectators entered the playing area. River Rouge's follow-up report was given to the Executive Committee. At its March 23, 2000 meeting, the Executive Committee determined (1) that the school's action was insufficient; and (2) that if by April 14 the school does not take more appropriate actions, then the attendance of administration and the coach would be required at an Executive Committee Meeting to explain why the Executive Committee should not take further action with respect to the school. The school's description of additional actions taken was received April 4.

Mattawan High School (Classification) - On its 2000-01 Enrollment Declaration Form the school district indicated erroneously that alternative education students who reside in Mattawan may participate in interscholastic athletics at Mattawan High School, and 14 such students who were no longer students at Mattawan High School were added to the school's enrollment for a total of 997, causing Mattawan High School to be designated Class A for MHSAA elections and traditional tournament classifications. It also caused the school to be placed in Division 2 of boys tennis. The school requested its enrollment be corrected to 983 and that the school be placed accordingly in MHSAA post-season tournaments in 2000-01.

Boys Basketball Tournament - The Executive Committee reviewed the conduct of personnel of several participating schools before, during and after the MHSAA Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals and directed staff to follow up in writing with each and to discuss proactive measures to avoid similar problems in the future.

Pension Plan - The Executive Committee approved two resolutions: (1) to approve the first Amendment to the MHSAA Money Purchase Pension Plan effective Aug. 1, 2000, and (2) to authorize the executive director to execute the Amendment and any other documents necessary to implement this resolution.

Next Meetings - The next meeting of the Executive Committee is scheduled for Saturday, May 6, at 6 p.m. in Gaylord (Representative Council May 7-9). The following meeting will be Wednesday, June 14, at 9 a.m. in East Lansing. n

Executive Committee Authority and Responsibility - The Executive Committee was reminded of its authority under Article VII of the MHSAA Constitution and specifically its responsibility to consider each application for waiver of an eligibility requirement on its individual merits, determining if the regulation serves the purpose for which it was intended in each case or if the regulation works an undue hardship on any student who is the subject of a request for waiver. (These underlying criteria may not be restated for every subject of these minutes.)

Grandville and Grand Rapids-Kenowa Hills High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[F]) - The Executive Committee approved a cooperative program between these schools in girls swimming and diving. Only Grandville sponsored the sport previously and will be the primary school. The combined enrollment for 2000-01 MHSAA tournament classification purposes will be 2,722 (Class A).

Port Huron Northern High School (Regulation I, Section 5) - Request was made to waive Interpretation No. 32 for a female student who played on the school's JV golf team in the fall of 1999. In February, the school established an interscholastic girls golf team.

Algonac High School (Regulation I, Section 9-) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a 10th-grade student who enrolled at Algonac High School on March 28, 2000. He had relocated from the residence of his mother in Madison Heights to that of his sister a year after his mother's residence burned and shortly after his family was evicted from a residence provided by insurance.

Bronson High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a student who relocated from the residence of his father in Tennessee to the residence of his mother in Bronson, where he enrolled Feb. 7, 2000.

Grand Rapids-Forest Hills Central High School (Regulation I, Section 9[D]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a student who will be in 10th grade next school year and would like to play ice hockey. The student transferred on March 7, 2000, from Forest Hills Northern High School, which had sponsored a cooperative team in ice hockey with Forest Hills Central until that cooperative program dissolved after the 1999-00 season.

Indian River-Inland Lakes High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request was made to waive the transfer regulation on behalf of a 10th-grade student who relocated from the residence of her mother in Indianapolis to the residence of her father in Indian River. The parents were never married.

The Executive Committee granted the request for waiver for one time only, provided documentation that the adults are the student's biological parents is provided to the satisfaction of the executive director and an otherwise completed Educational Transfer Form is submitted to the executive director.

Okemos High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation and specifically Interpretation No. 71 was made on behalf of a 12th-grade student who attended Okemos High School for 9th, 10th and 11th grades, was home schooled for the first semester of 12th grade, and returned to Okemos High School for the final semester.

The Executive Committee granted the request for waiver provided documentation is supplied to the satisfaction of the executive director that the student has met academic eligibility requirements for the two previous semesters.

Portland High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility at the sub-varsity level during the first semester of the 2000-01 school year was made on behalf of a 9th-grade student who enrolled at Portland High School on March 25, 2000, having moved to the residence of an aunt and uncle who cared for the student's three siblings between 1993 and 1999.

Portage Central High School (Regulation I, Section 13C]) - A late request was made to waive the provision that an exception to the limited team membership regulation may not be made for an Olympic Development or National Team event which causes a student to miss a state high school association sponsored athletic event involving a team in that sport, and also to reconsider the Executive Committee's actions of April 19, 2000 which reaffirmed the practice of considering for the exception just one event per sport per season and specifically declined to make an exception for an event in Texas in May and June 2000.

In this case, a female student-athlete has been invited to participate in a soccer event in Houston during the MHSAA Girls District Soccer Tournament. As the basis for the requests, the school and family cited the prestige of the event and the honor for the student and offered the opinion that the spring season for girls soccer is not traditional and is the cause of the conflict.

(1) The spring season for girls soccer is not an untraditional season: 18 states conduct girls high school soccer in the fall, 5 in the winter, 17 in the spring and 1 has split seasons. It has been this way for many years.

(2) The rule was adopted pursuant to the recommendation of the National Federation of State High School Associations as a part of the negotiations that led to passage by the U.S. Congress of the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which states in part:

"Sec. 202.(a). For the sport which it governs, a national governing body is under duty to... (2) minimize, through coordination with other amateur sports organizations, conflicts in the scheduling of all practices and competitions; . . ."

"Sec. 206. Any amateur sports organization which conducts amateur athletic competition, participation in which is restricted to a specific class of amateur athletes (such as high school students, college students, members of the Armed Forces, or similar groups or categories), shall have exclusive jurisdiction over such competition . . ."

(3) There are actually two students and two schools involved in this controversy, one school of which supports the rule and has not requested waiver and would find enforcement of the rule more difficult if the Executive Committee would grant waiver for the other school and student.

The Executive Committee discussed the application of the minimum suspension, one member suggesting the meaning could be three days of competition for each violation (e.g., three days for the first non-school game, six days for the second non-school game, etc.). It was agreed that past practice is reasonable and should continue: the first three days of school competition after the last non-school competition. This is the minimum requirement; schools may assess longer periods of ineligibility.

Executive Committee Authority and Responsibility - The Executive Committee was reminded of its authority under Article VII of the MHSAA Constitution and specifically its responsibility to consider each application for waiver of an eligibility requirement on its individual merits, determining if the regulation serves the purpose for which it was intended in each case or if the regulation works an undue hardship on any student who is the subject of a request for waiver. (These underlying criteria may not be restated for every subject of these minutes.)

Petersburg-Summerfield High School (Regulation I, Section 1) - Request to waive Interpretation No. 5 was made on behalf of a student who is a resident of the Summerfield School District and in 1999-00 was enrolled in the special education program housed at Ida High School where he chose to participate in sports. In 2000-01, the same program is being moved to Summerfield and the student would like to participate for Summerfield High School.

River Rouge and Wyandotte-Mt. Carmel High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[E]) - The Executive Committee approved a cooperative program between these schools in boys golf, boys soccer and girls soccer. River Rouge has sponsored all three sports previously and will be the primary school. The combined enrollment for 2000-01 tournament classification is 799, which is Division 2 for boys golf (no change), Division 3 for boys soccer (no change), and Division 3 for girls soccer (no change).

Saginaw School District (Regulation I, Section 1[F]) - The Executive Committee approved cooperative programs between Saginaw High School and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy in girls swimming and diving (combined enrollment 1,259 - Class A) and for Saginaw-Arthur Hill and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy in ice hockey (combined enrollment 1,621 - Division 1). In both cases the first school has sponsored the sport and will be the primary school.

Wyandotte-Mt. Carmel, Taylor-Light and Life Christian and River Rouge High Schools (Regulation I, Section 1[E]) - The Executive Committee approved the addition of River Rouge High School to the cooperative program that exists between Wyandotte-Mt. Carmel and Taylor-Light and Life Christian High Schools in ice hockey. Combined enrollment will be 900 for 2000-01 tournaments, which keeps the existing program in Division 3 but eliminates the program River Rouge had attempted to sponsor separately.

Coloma High School (Regulation I, Sections 4 & 5) - Request to waive the maximum semesters sections of the eligibility regulation was made on behalf of a student who was at Blanchard-Montabella High School for five semesters before dropping out in March of his sixth semester there when his brother became ill. He reenrolled at Montabella the following fall (August 1999). He transferred to Coloma in February 2000.

The Executive Committee noted that even if the second semester of the 1998-99 school year were not counted, the first semester of 2000-01 would be the student's fifth first semester and the second semester of 2000-01 would be the student's ninth semester overall. Both would exceed the maximum opportunity afforded other students; therefore, the request for waiver was denied.

Bridgman High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a 12th-grade student who previously attended St. Joseph-Lake Michigan Catholic High School, which will be entering a cooperative program with six other area schools in girls swimming. If she would have stayed at Lake Michigan Catholic, she could participate; by transferring, she would be ineligible under the regulation.

Charlotte High School (Regulation I, Section 9[D]) - A late request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a student who attended Lansing Catholic Central High School until he enrolled at Charlotte High School on Feb. 23, 2000. Because of a family vacation, the student did not attend classes at Charlotte High School until after the fourth Friday of February.

Eaton Rapids High school (Regulation I, Section 9[B]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility only at the sub-varsity level during the first semester of the 2000-01 school year was made on behalf of a student who will enter 10th grade at Eaton Rapids High School this fall after being home-schooled throughout his education. He had not participated in interscholastic athletics.

Flint-Powers Catholic High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a student who has enrolled for 12th grade at Powers Catholic High School. She previously attended Montrose-Hill McCloy High School as a regular student and as a homebound student after being a victim of assault, allegedly by a student who continues to attend Hill McCloy and against whom the victim has filed charges with police authorities.

Grosse Pointe South High School (Regulation I, Section 9[B]) - Request to waive the transfer regulation to permit eligibility only at the sub-varsity level was made for a 10th-grade student who attended 8th grade in the Grosse Pointe system, 9th grade at U of D Jesuit High School and has enrolled at Grosse Pointe South High School for 10th-grade. He played high school soccer.

Holland Christian High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a student from Hungary who will be attending Holland Christian High School for the first semester only of the 2000-01 school year.

Kalamazoo-Hackett Catholic Central High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of an 11th-grade student who is relocating with his family. He previously attended Bloomfield Hills-Brother Rice High School. The new residence is closer to Kalamazoo Christian High School than Hackett Catholic Central High school.

Pannonia Christian Educational Exchange (Regulation I, Section 9) - This organization is not listed by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) because it places so few students (approximately four per year) that CSIET costs are prohibitive. At its Aug. 19, 1999 meeting, the Executive Committee received the evaluation of MHSAA Assistant Director Gina Mazzolini, who is familiar with the evaluation criteria and processes of CSIET. She found that the organization exceeds some standards, meets most others and may be deficient in only two respects: (1) that it depends on the host community to provide funds to share expense of airfare and spending money, and (2) it has no provision for repatriation of remains should the student die. The Executive Committee determined that Pannonia Christian Educational Exchange was approved under Handbook Interpretation No. 76 for the 1999-00 school year only. The program requested that it be approved on the same basis for 2000-01.

Richland-Gull Lake High School (Regulation I, Section 9) - Request to waive the transfer regulation was made on behalf of a student who lives with his mother and father in the Gull Lake School District and attended Kalamazoo-Hackett Catholic Central High School for 9th grade and the first three quarters of 10th-grade.

Jackson Catholic Middle School and Jackson-St. Joseph School (Regulation III, Section 1[D]) - The Executive Committee approved the addition of football, boys and girls cross country and wrestling to the cooperative program approved in February of 2000 for boys and girls track and field.

Marenisco School District (Regulation III, Section 1) - Request was made to waive the enrollment regulation and specifically Interpretation No. 222 to permit 6th-grade students to participate on junior high boys and girls basketball teams during the 2000-01 school year.

Northern Lakes Conference (Regulation III, Section 1) - The league requested waiver of the enrollment regulation and specifically Interpretation No. 222 to permit 6th-grade students to participate with 7th and 8th-grade students in boys and girls basketball, both of which are conducted in the fall.

The Executive Committee granted the request for Alba, Boyne Falls, Ellsworth, Harbor Springs-Harbor Light Christian, Mackinaw City, Vanderbilt and Wolverine High Schools for the 2000-01 school year only under the condition that in each case, the high school does not allow 8th or 7th and 8th-graders to participate on 9-12 grade teams under Regulation I, Section 1(D).

Caro Junior High School (Regulation IV, Section 10[B]) - The school requested Executive Committee approval, pursuant to the regulation, to conduct its first 8th-grade football practice on the same date as its first game opponent's start of practice.

Vestaburg High School (Regulation V, Section 3[A]) - On May 4, 2000, the coach of the Vestaburg High School varsity baseball team removed his team from the contest in the top of the 7th inning of a 12-7 game, in protest of an umpire's call. The Executive Committee reviewed the school's written responses.

Transfer Regulation - As part of its ongoing study of the best practices and recent innovations of other statewide high school associations, the Executive Committee reviewed a proposed modification of the transfer regulation of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which would continue to require all transfer students who do not meet certain exceptions to be ineligible for 365 days, but which could be reduced to 30 days (one time only) if the principals of both the sending and receiving schools certify that the student has transferred without inducement or recruitment or for athletic reasons. The result of the discussion was confirmation that the MHSAA policy of a one-semester period of ineligibility with 15 stated exceptions and increasing situations for Executive Committee review was preferable and may avoid circumstances that have led to the proposals in Connecticut and other states.

Blue Ribbon Panel - The Executive Committee reviewed the charge to and composition of a panel on gender equity in high school sports created by a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Concerns were expressed for the panel's huge size yet inadequate diversity and balance and lack of operating policies and procedures.

Next Meetings - The next meetings of the Executive Committee are: Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 9 a.m. in East Lansing; Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 9 a.m. in East Lansing; Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 9 a.m. in East Lansing; Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 9 a.m. in East Lansing; and Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 8 a.m. in Traverse City, with the Representative Council Meeting at 11 a.m. n

Jim Cash was a professor at his alma mater, Michigan State University, and he was the co-screenwriter for Top Gun, Legal Eagles, Secret of My Success, Dick Tracey and other popular films, as well as a longer list of unproduced screenplays and unpublished novels.

But Jim's passion was sports. He grew up and attended high school in Grand Rapids with dreams of playing big league baseball. I don't know what potential he may have had, for I only saw him as the pitcher for our slow-pitch softball team, the Silver Foxes.

I tried unsuccessfully last March 22 to reach Jim to invite him to be my guest for the Class A Semifinals of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournaments on March 24. Jim died March 24 of a sudden and uncontrollable virus.

Dick Kishpaugh attended high school in Battle Creek, where he was a stringer for the Battle Creek Enquirer, and college at Western Michigan University where he served as a sports editor for both the campus newspaper and yearbook. It was while attending his first MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals in 1944 that he met MHSAA Executive Director Charles Forsythe and learned that no records existed for the tournament. The rest, as they say, is history.

This began a streak of 50 consecutive years that Dick attended the event; and as the years went by, he compiled records for the tournament, for other MHSAA tournaments and for high school sports in general. He wrote hundreds of articles about high school sports, and he was the resource for thousands more articles by sports media who depended on the depth and accuracy of his information. Along the way, he was given the title MHSAA "Historian."

Both men had always made me feel special, more worthy than I was. At the memorial service for each, I heard speakers say, "He never had an unkind word about anybody." It is obvious now that both men had the capacity to make everyone feel better about themselves.

The MHSAA Handbook, Regulation II, Sections 5 and 6 lists requirements for competitions which are hosted by non-member entities, involve teams or individuals from another state or are held out of the state. Depending on the situation, the following actions should be taken:

1. No action by MHSAA &SHY; Competition held in Michigan, conducted by member schools needs no MHSAA approval. All such meets shall use MHSAA registered officials and rules of competition adopted by the MHSAA for that sport.

2. Approval by the MHSAA &SHY; Any meet or tournament with three or more teams held within Michigan for Michigan schools and sponsored by a non-member school or organization must be approved by the MHSAA prior to the contest.

The non-member school/organization must submit in writing the terms and conditions of the competition. The sponsors must assure that the competition will be conducted in accordance with MHSAA eligibility regulations, using MHSAA registered officials and rules of competition adopted by the MHSAA for that sport.

3. Sanction by State Association &SHY; Interstate competition, which is sponsored by a member school and involves three or more schools from border states must be sanctioned by the state association of the host school, as well as the respective association of the state or states of participating schools.

A. Any interstate competition involving two or more schools which is cosponsored by an organization outside the high school community (e.g. a university, shoe company, etc.), in addition to being sponsored by a member school, shall require sanction by the NFHS office.

* Whenever an event requires NFHS approval, there is a $50 fee made payable to the NFHS. This payment must be sent along with the request for sanction to the state association office. The host school or the organization that is hosting the event is required to have the request submitted to the state association office within 90 days before the event.

** Reminder: The practice of taking a team on a "spring trip" is a separate issue. Any school which conducts practice sessions out of state at a site more must submit to the state association office a travel form for out of state practice. This does not allow schools to compete in a scrimmage or practice with a team from another school.

Are coaches and players better behaved today than they were in years past? Frankly, I haven't found anyone who states conduct in the pursuit of victory has improved. A good deal of that behavior is directed at us. That is why I never pass up an opportunity to participate in seminars and conferences designed to address the issue of sportsmanship.

Such a conference was recently convened in Southern California and I was included as a panelist. "Pursuing Victory With Honor" was held at Cal State-Long Beach and the hall was filled to capacity. In fact Character Counts, organizers of the day-long conference, expected 450 to attend; 700 showed up. That fact alone spoke volumes that sports needs to reflect the best in us, not the worst.

Point 1: The hot body was in reference to the boorish and often physically abusive behavior toward officials. The warm body reference addresses the continuing need for more officials. If the hot body count continues to rise, the warm body count will continue to decrease. Simple as that.

Point 2: Administrators need to be proactive in supporting officials. Many give lip service to that concept, but then quickly wilt from such a course of action when the heat gets turned up by the media, fans or a school.

Point 3: This point was an underlying theme for the entire conference and I was glad for the opportunity to talk about it at some length. Sportsmanship is learning the rules and assiduously playing within those rules. Sportsmanship also has a component of fairness attached to it. "Being a good sport" means not trying to take advantage of an opponent by consciously bending or breaking a rule based on your expectation of not being caught. Gamesmanship is the antithesis of sportsmanship. If you win because of gamesmanship you have "won" but you do not have victory. You have no victory because you have "won" without honor. Without honor there can be no victory.

One coach on the panel told the audience that for a long time she taught her players to play strictly by the rules. After some years, she had to relent and teach gamesmanship in order to compete with the other coaches in her league. I was struck by what she had told us.

I finished with the following thoughts: When coaches teach and players practice gamesmanship, it becomes just about impossible for officials to deliver a performance those participants will find acceptable. We need their help to do our best. We need their help to permit us to concentrate on the critical needs of the contest. We should not have to spread our focus trying to catch someone purposely subverting the integrity of the game. That is a lose-lose situation.

Barry Mano is publisher and executive editor of Referee Magazine. This is his "Publisher's Memo" in hte July 2000 issue. Mano will speak with officials at the MHSAA statewide Sportsmanship Summit Sept. 27, 2000, at the Lansing Center. n

These past few years our football program has taken quite a beating and there have been many challenging moments with which our staff has had to deal. There are often those days when we wonder if we are reaching our student-athletes involved in that program and whether or not they are learning the values and lessons that athletics is meant to teach. Recently, one of our senior athletes wrote this essay expressing his feelings about what playing football meant to him. If you knew this young man, you would never have guessed that he had such tremendous insight into himself and the values and lessons that he learned. He is an extremely bright young man and it was so refreshing &SHY; after such a difficult time period in our program &SHY; to see that, indeed, at least some of the young men in our program were still learning the valuable lessons that participation in sports can provide. As a side note, this particular student was recently a recipient of a very large Naval ROTC scholarship and will be attending the Illinois Institute of Technology.

"I really am not sure as how to begin this essay. I feel that I personally have had a rather good life. I have not suffered any severe heartbreaks or personal challenges to this point. I have had it a lot better off than many people in this world, and for that, I am thankful. About the most difficult thing I have ever had to deal with is my football career, and truly that wasn't too terribly bad either, although I did learn much about dedication, teamwork, and self-respect.

Football at Marlette High School during my stint there has almost been a joking matter to the general public. They brought in new coaches, who implemented a new program my freshman year. We went into the first season with the support of the town and our classmates, and came out heartbroken and anguished. It really was a dismal year, the varsity and JV teams were both winless and it really hurt. I spent the whole season in a state of dismay. How could this be happening? We worked so hard and yet still got waxed every week.

This continued all through my high school career. Every week it was the same story, even when I moved up to varsity, we just could not win. It really hurt, and I must admit, it was hard to stick with it. In the face of humiliation, and being the butt of all your friends' jokes, quitting crossed my mind more than once. It would have been easy. For, what was the point? I came home every Friday bloodied and bruised, to add another one to the loss column. I am truly glad I didn't quit, though.

Coming into mv senior year, we were adding to the losing streak. Friends at school were telling me and my teammates to just throw the season and go for the state record losing streak. I ignored them and still tried my best. It all paid off the last game of the season, my last game as a Marlette Red Raider. I was surprised to see that the stands were full on our side, despite the fact that the game was away, and an hour drive from Marlette. Somehow, everything that had been brewing inside of us as a team came out that night, and we showed everyone what we could do. We walked away from that game winners, 34-13, and could finally walk with pride at school. In my opinion, we had been winners much before then. We were winners every time we stepped out of the locker room, for we stuck with it, above all else. I cried as I realized what we had done, and that I would never have a chance to do it again. This was my last game with those guys, but we made the best of it. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Football taught me dedication, teamwork, desire, and much about self-respect. It taught me anything is possible if you put your mind to it, and just stick with it. It taught me that despite what people say, you can accomplish your goals. It taught me that there is no substitution for the best. Give it 110 percent every time and eventually you will come out on top. Football taught me that if you respect yourself, have confidence in what you can do, and above all else, believe in what you are doing, others will believe.

I have applied the lessons that my coaches and my teammates have taught me to every aspect of my life. I believe that if i put my mind to it, nothing is beyond my grasp. If I can dream it, I can do it, and anything is possible."

The MHSAA Representative Council at its March meeting approved the Ice Hockey Committee's recommendation to sponsor an orientation program for schools sponsoring hockey for the first time. High school hockey continues to be the fastest growing MHSAA sport with nine new teams expected to take the ice in November, making a total of 143 schools. Michigan ranks third in the nation, behind Massachusetts and Minnesota, in the total number of schools sponsoring hockey.

It is expected that each of the nine schools, plus any other schools that recently added ice hockey, will include its coach, athletic administrator, principal or booster club representative in its delegation. The meeting will be held in the MHSAA offices on Tuesday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. until noon. Schools planning to attend should notify the MHSAA as early as possible.

In addition to sportsmanship issues, the program will focus on practical issues including game administration and coach-player, coach-administrator communication. Presenters will include MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts, Coaches Ron Baum of East Kentwood and Andy Weidenbach of Cranbrook, School Administrator Eric Federico of Gibraltar-Carlson, Tournament Manager Dave Durkin and Official Steve Winn.

New athletic directors in schools sponsoring ice hockey should find the program informative and can attend if they wish. Everyone wanting to reserve space should do so by contacting Jerry Cvengros or Sharla Stokes at the MHSAA. Fax Number: 517-332-4071. n

School administrators, counselors and coaches are reminded to present advanced eligibility opportunities to over-age jr. high/middle school students. MHSAA Regulations prohibit seventh and eighth-grade students who become 15 years of age before Sept. 1 to participate in interscholastic sports competition at their respective grade level. The same is true of 16-year-old ninth-graders in a 10-12 high school system if the birthday occurs before Sept. 1.

Member schools of the Michigan High School Athletic Association have agreed through Regulation II, Section 7(B) to rate officials in several of the sports for which the MHSAA conducts a postseason tournament and to be subject to penalties when a school fails to rate any officials in a sport that requires it.

Most officials would prefer an evaluation process over ratings by participating schools; but under our current system, officials need schools to rate them so they can amass the number of ratings necessary to be considered for advancement and tournament assignments.

On Dec. 2, 1998, the MHSAA Representative Council adopted the policy of publishing in the MHSAA Bulletin the names of schools which fail to rate any officials in a sport for two consecutive years. For the winter seasons of both 1998-99 and 1999-00, the following schools have failed to rate any officials:

1. Initially there was discussion of Amateur Sports Network (ASN) and some of the features that that program, if it comes to fruition, would provide assignors in their duties to arrange officials to work the various contests that they are responsible for. It is hoped that the next time the assignors meet, an ASN demo may be provided.

2. Local payment issues: A review from the assignors indicated that the voucher system for payment is in process in several of the metropolitan areas. An issue that has been difficult for various assignors and officials is that school districts change their protocol during the season. It is recognized that the voucher system and other hybrids of that program have as their intention to avoid reissuing checks. Some schools are extremely timely, some are extremely slow. Assignors are expected to make officials aware of the system. Many suspect that it would be more appropriate for the school districts to honor the officials by including with each contract a description of their payment system.

In the case of Ice Hockey, it appears that the ice rinks tend to pay officials and there is a loss of contact with the schools. Because of the lack of contracts, there are occasions when partners fail to show because they either were not contacted or simply don't arrive. From the point of view of the schools, there is a common willingness to cancel the contest on the day of the game. Thus, causing officials little opportunity to work on that particular day. It varies, but there are some schools that seem to have no regard for the commitment that the officials made for them on a particular day and expect officials to move forward without concern for financial consideration. It was suggested that perhaps a cancellation fee for officials who do not participate or for schools that cancel within a period of time be considered. It was reported that in some cases, officials are provided a check on which the official's name is placed at game time. A voucher is signed at the time the check is provided; involved school districts have found that this works well.

3. Recruitment: Officials would like to encourage help from coaches in identifying individuals who would possibly make good officials. At least one league, The Big Nine, has a program at which officials speak at meetings where athletes are assembled to talk about the opportunity to officiate. Occasionally, newspapers like the Flint Journal have included articles which local assignors and officials are contacted for comment. Some officials have been assisting colleges and high schools in teaching credit classes that train individuals to become officials. Information has been promoted by some associations to colleges. Soccer has developed a youth training program. Some officials have participated in career days at local high schools where they hand out information and answer questions.

In west Michigan, 10-15 students were given scholarships to a baseball/softball clinic. This enabled the young officials to get a good start and gave them a connection to the local association. Many officials associations have made successful attempts in becoming speakers at local sports nights to communicate to parents and students the philosophy of officiating which sometimes encourages participation.

Assignors would be interested in participating in sportsmanship conferences either in the regional programs that would occur from time to time or the MHSAA sponsored statewide program. They would like to institute an awareness that schools become involved with officials to help promote officiating and treatment of officials. Some associations would consider sponsoring individuals to attend clinics and training.

4. Problems that came forward from the group include the difficulty in communicating with schools who insist on early start times. Schools that insist on competing at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. or in the afternoons at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. have made extremely difficult for officials to make the start times. More officials could be available if start times were moved further away from the school day. Assignors find if very difficult to convince people to depart from work early enough to arrive in time for the start times.

Incidentally, some associations find that leagues and conference agree on a start time but find that at several times throughout the year the start time is ignored. Commonly, a 4 p.m. start is often a 4:30 p.m. or 4:45 p.m. start because one of the schools is unable to arrive in time for the contest beginning. When officials attempt to arrive on time and do only to find that the schools are running behind because they don't release their buses in time, it becomes a little frustrating. Assignors would like to have leagues and conferences reassess their start times and accept a time that is real and achievable. Some school districts refuse to send teams until all the students are delivered or until a bus returns from a regular run and that creates difficulty because there is no intention of meeting the posted or contracted start time.

5. Evaluation of officials: Local associations were encouraged to develop evaluator systems. Certain assignors explained how they have been able to evaluate officials at least once a year. The approach for the assignor/evaluator was different, but it was noted that the officials appreciated the feed back from an observer. It was reiterated that retired officials who have the ability to evaluate should be included in their local association effort to provide feed back and encourage development of officials. Some associations were able to do this with financial reimbursement; some of this was voluntary.

6. Considerations: The assignors would appreciate the MHSAA at least providing authority to certain evaluators whose feed back would be important to the assignor and perhaps to the assignment committees when they are working. It was agreed that young officials evaluated after scrimmages found it very helpful and the instant feed back was critical to their development.

7. Assignors develop evaluation feedback: The assignors took a moment to develop a simple feed back instrument that they will provide as a tournament assignment committee resource. Specifically, they will indicate their judgement regarding the level of tournament that an official ought to work. They will identify officials who are new to the tournament scene, encouraging their assignments. The will identify individuals who may have some difficulty, such as an injury so that they are not assigned, causing replacements to be found, recognizing that there is no authority at this time for the assignor to have a part in the officials assignment program. They feel that since they work with officials regularly, they can be of some assistance to the committee by providing current information.

Some assignors indicated that schools have been difficult to please because they are not interested in accepting new or young officials at their site for any level of contest. They ask that the assistant director communicate to the school that if we are going to develop officials, we need to have an opportunity for them to work at the lower levels and encourage the local community schools to promote this opportunity whenever and as much as possible. In addition, it would be appropriate to explain to coaches that if we don't do our part by encouraging young officials or new officials at the lower levels, when its time and we need those officials at the upper levels, we may not have them.

8. The final topic had to do with the continued violent behavior, unsportsmanlike behavior of fans at contests. Although there is occasional violent behavior from athletes and coaches, there are not near so notable as those from spectators. Assignors find it difficult to make assignments from their stable of officials when several or most prefer not work a certain schools with a history of bad behavior.

9. Our program concluded with the promise that the MHSAA will provide a list of assignor names and addresses and e-mail addresses for the group when the minutes are mailed to them. The assignors look forward the annual meeting in order to network and share their concerns. n

On April 10, there were approximately 75 officials representing Approved Associations from throughout Michigan who met at DeWitt High School for the third annual Approved Association Meeting. During the first portion of the meeting there was a discussion of ways to make the meetings throughout the year interesting and beneficial to those local officials who participate. The following is a list of ideas and practices that were presented by various members of the audience:

* Provide an open forum clinic for anyone who wishes to attend. Contact local schools. Volunteer and encourage pre season meetings with parents, coaches and athletes to meet with officials to discuss new rules and sportsmanship issues. Encourage local association leadership to meet with any school administration that is listed in the Bulletin with three ejections or more for a particular season.

If local associations begin to evaluate officials many would like to see the MHSAA provide evaluator training so that all evaluators will have a similar background and attitude toward the evaluation of officials in all sports. n

Diane Laffey, Michigan's all-time winningest coach in girls basketball and softball, was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Association's National High School Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies at the NFHS annual summer meeting here.

Laffey is the third inductee from Michigan into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame. Previous inductees are Charles E. Forsythe, the first full-time and longest serving executive director of the MHSAA (1983), and Lofton C. Greene, Michigan's all-time winningest coach in boys basketball, who coached River Rouge to 13 MHSAA titles (1986).

More than a quarter-century ago, Diane Laffey took over the reins of the Harper Woods Regina High School basketball and softball programs. She currently holds the head coaching position of both sports, and is the school's athletic director as well.

Laffey was co-founder of the Michigan Softball Coaches Association and is the current Michigan chairperson of the

National Fastpitch Coaches Association. She has also been a MHSAA registered game official for 21 years in basketball, volleyball and softball.

Additionally, Laffey is a member of the following Halls of Fame: Detroit Catholic League, Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association, Metro Detroit Amateur Softball Association, Michigan High School Coaches Association and National High School Athletic Coaches Association.

She was also the 1991 recipient of the MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Award, presented annually to the person who makes major contributions to encouraging and preparing women for positions as athletic administrators, coaches and officials.