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.
MHSAA Provides Heat Management Reminders in Advance of 2023 Fall Practices
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 1, 2023
Temperatures reached record highs in some parts of Michigan at the start of this summer, and heat waves have made headlines nationally over the last month. Although the state didn’t experience similar extremes during July, the beginning of August always is a pertinent time for reminders that more hot weather is likely in many areas and should be prepared for as Michigan High School Athletic Association practices are set to begin Monday, Aug. 7.
Each year, the MHSAA provides information to its member schools to help them prepare for hot weather practice and game conditions during the late summer and early fall. Practices for all Fall 2023 sports – cross country, football, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Lower Peninsula boys and Upper Peninsula girls tennis, and volleyball – may begin Monday, Aug. 7.
The “Health & Safety” page of the MHSAA Website has links to several information sources, including the MHSAA preseason publication Heat Ways, which is available for download and includes valuable information on heat management in addition to requirements and resources regarding head injuries and sudden cardiac arrest.
The first days of formal practices in hot weather should be more for heat acclimatization than the conditioning of athletes, and practices in such conditions need planning to become longer and more strenuous over a gradual progression of time. Schools also must consider moving practices to different locations or different times of day, or change practice plans to include different activities depending on the conditions. Furthermore, football practice rules allow for only helmets to be worn during the first two days, only shoulder pads to be added on the third and fourth days, and full pads to not be worn until the fifth day of team practice.
The MHSAA advises student-athletes to make sure to hydrate all day long – beginning before practice, continuing during and also after practice is done. Water and properly-formulated sports drinks are the best choices for hydration.
A number of member schools follow the MHSAA’s Model Policy for Managing Heat & Humidity, which while not mandated for member schools was adopted as a rule for MHSAA postseason competition in 2013. The plan directs schools to begin monitoring the heat index at the activity site once the air temperature reaches 80 degrees, and provides recommendations when the heat index reaches certain points, including ceasing activities when it rises above 104 degrees. (When the temperature is below 80 degrees, there is no combination of heat and humidity that will result in a need to curtail activity.) The model heat & humidity policy is outlined in a number of places on the MHSAA Website, including as part of Heat Ways.