Engagement
October 31, 2017
In addition to daily calls, texts, emails and old-fashioned mail delivery, Michigan High School Athletic Association staff engaged face to face with its core constituents in these ways from August of 2016 through July of 2017:
- More than 350 local school visits, including:
- Approximately 120 to attend regular season local contests to evaluate officials for MHSAA tournament readiness.
- More than 60 to support or evaluate MHSAA pre-Final tournament events.
- More than 60 to speak at or support MHSAA CAP sessions (plus 25 CAP sessions at the MHSAA building).
- 12 for MHSAA.TV, NFHS Network or School Broadcast Program.
- 6 for Second Half website features.
- 6 for new school orientation.
- 5 for Battle of the Fans (each involving 3 MHSAA staff).
- 5 for officiating classes.
- 2 for Reaching Higher (each involving 4 or more staff).
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More than 60 local officials association visits, including:
- 45 for rules meetings/presentations.
Plus 8 visits to officials camps,
5 presentations to college officiating classes, and
9 officiating recruitment events.
- More than 50 coaches association meetings.
- 24 for MHSAA rules meetings/presentations.
- 6 for CAP programs.
Plus the Coaches Association Presidents dinner at the MHSAA office involving 9 MHSAA staff.
- More than 50 league meetings, including:
- 8 to conduct student leadership or sportsmanship events or for team captains clinics (usually involving multiple MHSAA staff).
- 8 to provide event marketing assistance.
- 7 to provide MHSAA information/updates.
- 6 to provide MHSAA rules meetings/presentations.
- 3 for ArbiterGame training (usually involving 2 or more MHSAA staff).
Plus the League Leadership Meeting at the MHSAA office involving most MHSAA staff.
- More than 15 MIAAA meetings.
- 10 MHSAA staff at the March conference.
- 2 MHSAA staff at the summer workshop.
- 2 to 4 MHSAA staff at most board meetings.
- At least 1 staff at multiple committee meetings, strategic planning, etc.
- More than 50 standing committees, task forces and ad hoc study groups convened at the MHSAA office, and several did so multiple times.
What is abundantly clear here is that the MHSAA staff does not operate from an ivory tower or information vacuum.
Anti-Participation Fees
August 23, 2016
Last month the Michigan High School Athletic Association released results of a survey of its member high schools regarding participation fees – a.k.a., “pay for play.” This was the 12th survey since the 2003-04 school year, making this the largest and longest record of school trends on this troublesome topic.
In spite of almost universal condemnation of the practice of charging students fees to participate in school-sponsored sports, the practice is now ingrained in the fabric of educational athletics, with more than 50 percent of reporting MHSAA member high schools indicating they require at least modest payments as a condition of playing on school-sponsored competitive sports teams.
The most recent survey of 557 reporting high schools revealed 51.5 percent charging fees, the same percentage as the year before, but down from a high of 57 percent two years ago. The percentage of schools with fees exceeded 50 percent for the first time in 2010-11.
While the MHSAA believes participation fees are counter-productive for schools and communities, the MHSAA offers a guide to “best practices” where school leaders have determined there are no better choices for providing necessary financial support for the interscholastic athletic program. Click here for this guide as well as the current and previous surveys.
Among the core values of school sports is a program that is inexpensive for students to play and for families to watch. The program should have great breadth and depth, appealing to many different students and open to all who have interest and meet high standards of eligibility and conduct.
Participation fees that discourage and limit participation are antithetical to these core values of educational athletics.