Get Ready to Prep Rally
June 6, 2013
A key part of succeeding during a school year full of sports is building fitness during the months leading up to the season’s first practice.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association will share how students from all over the state prepare with a “Prep Rally” contest this summer.
The contest is part of the MHSAA’s PLAY (Preparation Lasts All Year) initiative designed to encourage athletes to remain active during the offseason so they are prepared physically and acclimated to warm weather when practice begins in the fall. Student athletes involved in the winning Prep Rally activity will be awarded tickets to an MHSAA Final of their choice, at which they will be recognized for their accomplishment.
“Acclimatization and summer preparation for practice conditions are key parts of our focus on making school sports as healthy as possible for students,” MHSAA executive director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “The Prep Rally contest this summer will promote the importance of staying active during the offseason. We’re excited to see how Michigan’s creative student athletes find fun ways to stay active and fit, and we look forward to showcasing their ideas so they can be shared by students all over Michigan.”
Student athletes are invited to submit a 150-word explanation of an activity they take part in during the offseason to stay active before the start of organized practice. Activities should not be centered on the sport in which those athletes compete, but rather on something recreational and fun. Entries should include photographs or a brief video of athletes participating. Activities also do not have to be team-centered; special consideration will be given to those that include students from a variety of sports participating together.
The deadline for student-submitted video applications is Aug. 12, the first day of practice for football teams (all other fall sports athletes begin practice Aug. 14). Communities are encouraged to promote their athletes’ applications via the MHSAA’s Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram feeds using the hashtag #PrepRally.
Entries should be e-mailed to the MHSAA's Andi Osters at [email protected].
MHSAA staff will choose three finalists, which will be featured on Second Half. Staff will then select a winner and announce the champion Aug. 19.
Contest rules and directions for submitting entries can be found on the Prep Rally page of MHSAA.com. This year’s finalists, plus the announcement of the 2013 winner, will be published on Second Half. Also, safety and acclimatization information is available via the MHSAA.com PLAY page.
Council Gives Go-Ahead in 3 More Sports
August 20, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association today approved the start of competition in girls volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in regions of Michigan authorized for that activity by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders, with competition in those sports pending in regions where those activities are not yet allowed as part of preventing spread of COVID-19.
Schools in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula – designated as Regions 6 and 8, respectively, by executive order – are allowed to begin competition Aug. 21, as originally scheduled. Schools in all other Regions (1-5, and 7) may continue outdoor practice, pending further executive orders allowing for the opening of indoor facilities and physical distancing while competing in those areas.
Teams began outdoor practice in volleyball, soccer, swimming & diving, cross country, golf and tennis on Aug. 12. Lower Peninsula girls golf and boys tennis, and Upper Peninsula girls tennis began competition Aug. 19, with cross country competition beginning Aug. 21. Football practice began Aug. 10, and on Aug. 14 the Representative Council voted to postpone the Fall 2020 football season to Spring 2021, also due to COVID-19 concerns.
MHSAA staff was authorized by executive order to create all guidance for a return of school sports, and over the last eight weeks has worked to fulfill this mandate while complying with all of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. The Council was prepared today to approve competition in volleyball, soccer and swimming & diving for all schools in all regions, but was unable to do so because of questions remaining on which activities are still not allowed.
“Our Council has made clear it is ready to offer students these opportunities, pending approval from Governor Whitmer that we may do so,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “We have been told that within a week, future guidance will address athletic issues that exist in current executive orders. We are awaiting that guidance.
“The MHSAA and Representative Council are committed to following all current and future Executive Orders and safety precautions. However, we need more answers before we can give all of our member schools the go-ahead to play each other again, and the majority of our schools are in regions that are not yet allowed to take part in volleyball, soccer and swim.”
For attendance purposes, schools in Regions 6 and 8 may have for indoor volleyball a total of 250 people or 25 percent of a facility’s capacity, whichever is smallest. Indoor pools in Regions 6 and 8 are limited to 25 percent of established bather capacity for that pool. Outdoor competition in Regions 6 and 8 may have 500 people or 25 percent of capacity, whichever is smallest. For all three sports, the total numbers of people allowed to be present include all participants, officials and school and game personnel, media and fans.
The Council also approved out-of-season coaching adjustments allowing football and spring sports coaches more contact with their athletes in advance of the 2021 season.
To provide additional offseason activity for sports that have had their full seasons canceled or moved, the Council approved 16 contact days for football and all spring sports to be used for voluntary practices among students from the same school only. Football may schedule their contact days from Aug. 24 through Oct 31. Spring sports – baseball, softball, girls soccer, track & field, girls and boys lacrosse, boys golf, Upper Peninsula girls golf, and Lower Peninsula girls tennis and Upper Peninsula boys tennis – may schedule their 16 contact days for voluntary practices from Sept. 8-Oct. 31, if the school permits and all safety protocols are followed.
Football and all spring sports then may conduct skill work with coaches and up to four players at a time beginning Nov. 1 until the first day of official practice this upcoming spring. Coaches also may work with an unlimited number of players on general conditioning during that time.
A calendar for the inclusion of football into Spring 2021 will be released later this fall, upon Council approval at a later meeting.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.