Officials Join Sportsmanship Summits Line-up
October 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Two first-time locations and sessions conducted by local game officials are among additions to the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s annual Sportsmanship Summit series, which will run again during the first three weeks of November.
The MHSAA has conducted Sportsmanship Summits across Michigan for more than 20 years and will visit four sites this fall including Traverse City and Ann Arbor each for the first time. The Summit series kicks off Nov. 7 at Saginaw Valley State University and finishes Nov. 16 in Grand Rapids.
MHSAA staff, with assistance from school administrators and the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, conduct Sportsmanship Summits. More than 1,000 students from more than 100 schools are expected to take part in the four workshops, where they will discuss the line that separates good from bad sportsmanship, especially when it comes to cheering at athletic events. Instruction will be based in part on insights gained during the Student Advisory Council’s Battle of the Fans competitions, which annually began recognizing the best student cheering section in Michigan during the 2011-12 winter season.
This fall’s Summits also again will feature hands-on breakout sessions. New this fall, students will have the opportunity to meet with and discuss sportsmanship with local game officials, who will explain sportsmanship from their points of view and how it may differ from what students experience as competitors or fans. Members of the Student Advisory Council have developed and will instruct during another breakout session and also play a role in the opening all-Summit presentation. To conclude the Summits, the delegation from each participating school will meet to develop a youth sportsmanship campaign to implement upon returning to school.
Sessions will take place at the following:
• Saginaw – Nov. 7 – Saginaw Valley State University Conference Center – 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Traverse City – Nov. 9 – Grand Traverse Resort – 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Ann Arbor – Nov. 14 – Sheraton Ann Arbor Hotel – 9 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.
• Grand Rapids – Nov. 16 – Crowne Plaza Airport – 9 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Registration at each site is limited to the first 300 students and administrators. Schools are welcome to bring as many as 10 total representatives, including two administrators. For additional registration information, contact Andy Frushour at the MHSAA office – [email protected] or (517) 332-5046. Click for details.
Six Members Re-elected to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 28, 2023
Elections were completed recently to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, with six members receiving re-election from their respective constituencies.
Five of the six re-elected members ran unopposed. Gobles athletic director Chris Miller was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula, Camden-Frontier superintendent Chris Adams was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula, and Marquette athletic director Alex Tiseo was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the Upper Peninsula.
Boyne City High School principal Adam Stefanski also ran unopposed and was re-elected to continue representing junior high/middle schools. Jay Alexander, executive director of athletics for Detroit Public Schools Community District, was re-elected to continue representing Detroit Public Schools. Mt. Morris athletic director Jeff Kline was re-elected from a pool of three candidates to continue in a statewide at-large position.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee. The Council meets three times annually. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. Negaunee athletic director Paul Jacobson was elected to represent Class A and B schools, and Menominee athletic director Sam Larson was elected to represent Class C schools. Paradise Whitefish Township superintendent/principal/athletic director Vincent Gross was elected to represent Class D schools.
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 1.3 million spectators each year.