Council Approves Winter Schedule Update

December 23, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association today approved an adjusted regular-season calendar for indoor Winter sports, which under current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) orders may restart their seasons Saturday, Jan. 16. 

All Winter sports activity had been paused by MDHHS on Nov. 18 to decrease spread of COVID-19. Girls and boys alpine skiing, with all activity taking place outdoors, was allowed by MDHHS to resume its season Monday (Dec. 21) and remains underway. If the MDHHS pause ends, indoor practices may begin again Jan. 16, with first competitions Jan. 22 for basketball, bowling, ice hockey and swimming & diving; and Jan. 25 for competitive cheer, gymnastics and wrestling.  

The Council also approved one-year changes to competition limits in ice hockey and wrestling. In hockey, teams may play two games on one non-school day on two dates this season – with four games total during those two weeks when this opportunity is utilized. Wrestling teams are allowed two dates of competition per week this season, with competition limited to four teams at a site (and three matches per student per day of competition). 

The Council also approved changes to the Winter tournament schedule pushing championships in most sports back to allow for regular seasons to be extended due to the late start. Following are the updated dates: 

Boys and Girls Basketball
Girls Districts - March 8, 10 and 12; Boys Districts - March 9, 11 and 13 
Girls Regionals - March 16 and 18; Boys Regionals - March 17 and 19 
Girls QF, Semifinals and Finals - March 22 (QF), March 24 (Semifinals- 2 Sites) and March 26 (Finals) 
Boys QF, Semifinals and Finals - March 23 (QF), March 25 (Semifinals- 2 Sites) and March 27 (Finals) 

Bowling 
Regionals - March 19-20
Finals - March 26-27 

Competitive Cheer 
Districts - March 5-6
Regionals - March 13 
Finals - March 19-20 

Gymnastics 
Regionals - March 20
Finals - March 26-27 

Ice Hockey 
Regionals - March 15-20
Finals - March 25-27 

Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving 
Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swim & Dive Finals - Feb. 27 
Lower Peninsula Boys Dive Regionals - March 18 
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals - March 26-27 

Wrestling 
District Week - March 1
Regional Week - March 8 
Team Finals - March 19-20 
Individual Finals - March 26-27 

Currently, the start dates of Spring sports are not affected. If current orders further delay activity beyond Jan. 16, the MHSAA staff and Representative Council will devise updated plans that address both Winter and Spring sports. If current orders are amended to allow activity to begin earlier, the first days of practice and competition will be moved up accordingly.

“The Council has been working to give schools as much local flexibility as possible while putting together their winter seasons schedules,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “This flexible planning has been required of us all since June, and we will continue to advocate for kids in all seasons with our continued goal of three seasons played to completion.” 

Title IX at 50: From Gymnastics to Wrestling, Girls Opportunities Continue to Grow

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 7, 2022

Four teams will meet Saturday at Rockford high school to decide this season’s two MHSAA girls lacrosse champions, the 33rd and 34th titles winners since the sport gained MHSAA sponsorship beginning with the 2004-05 school year.

Lacrosse, for both girls and boys, is the most recently-added sponsored team sport among MHSAA offerings. The first girls sport to receive an MHSAA-sponsored postseason tournament was gymnastics, during the winter of the 1971-72 school year.

Below is a timeline detailing when every girls sport made its MHSAA postseason debut – including this winter’s Individual Wrestling Finals girls championship division. (Season played in parentheses.)

► 1971-72: Gymnastics (Winter)

► 1972-73: Golf (UP-Fall, LP-Spring), Swimming & Diving (Fall), Tennis (Fall), Track & Field (Spring)

► 1973-74: Basketball (Fall)

► 1974-75: Skiing (Winter), Softball (Spring)

► 1975-76: Volleyball (Winter)

► 1978-79: Cross Country (Fall)

► 1982-83: Soccer (Spring)

► 1993-94: Competitive Cheer (Winter)

► 2003-04: Bowling (Winter)

► 2004-05: Lacrosse (Spring)

► 2021-22: Wrestling Individual Finals (Winter)

Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.

Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights

May 31: Mumford Sprinter's Magnificent 2006 Final Remains Unmatched - Read
May 24: Scane, Whiteside Alone on 400-Goal, 500-Point Girls Lacrosse Lists - Read
May 17: Over 8 Days in 1988, Pair of Champs Set No. 1 Singles Standard - Read
May 10: 
Portage Central's Tarpley Scores as State's Superstar, U.S. Soccer Hero - Read
May 3: 
Prychitko 'Legend In Her Own Time,' Legend for All Time - Read
April 26: 
Braddock vs. Verdun Still Striding Among All-Time Sprint Matchups - Read
April 19: 
Holmes' Strikeout Record Rarely Approached, May Be Unbreakable - Read
April 12: 
Anticipation High as 45,000 Girls Return to Spring Sports - Read
April 5: 
Regina's Laffey Retiring as Definition of Legendary - Read
March 29: 
Edison's Whitehorn named 2022 Miss Basketball - Read
March 22: 
Carney-Nadeau Sets Girls Hoops Standard with 78-Win Streak - Read
March 15: 
Binder Among Voices Telling Our Story on MHSAA Network - Read
March 8: 
28 Years, Thousands of Cheers - Read
March 1: 
Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes - Read
Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: 
Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: 
Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: 
Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: 
Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: 
Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: 
Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: 
Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: 
Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: 
Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read

PHOTOS (Clockwise from left) Potterville’s Kathy Gray reaches to make a play against Battle Creek St. Philip during the 1989 Lower Peninsula Class D Volleyball Final. Flint Beecher’s Carlotta Craven (41) and Frankenmuth’s Laura Butman (42) battle for a rebound during the 1987 Class B Final. The 1989 Detroit St. Martin dePorres track & field team shows its various trophies won during a run to the 1989 LP Class B title. Canton players celebrate their game-winning shootout goal against Livonia Churchill in the 1988 Class A Final. (MHSAA file photos.)