Rep Council Wrap-up: Fall 2012
December 7, 2012
A change in format for the Boys Basketball Finals highlighted actions taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual Fall Meeting, Nov. 30 in East Lansing.
Mirroring closely the format of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals, the Boys Finals will move this season from three to two sessions. The first session will tip off with the Class D Final at 10 a.m., followed by the Class A championship game. The second session will begin tentatively at 4:30 p.m. with the Class C Final and conclude with the Class B title game.
Previously, the Class A and B Finals were separate sessions, with the Class A Final tipping at 4 p.m. and Class B at 8 p.m. The change will make for a shorter day for spectators wishing to attend all four games, and also allow them to do so by purchasing tickets for two sessions instead of three.
The Fall Meeting also saw the addition of two members to the 19-person council. Reese Public Schools athletic director Dave Derocher began a two-year term after being elected earlier this fall to represent Class C and D schools in the northern Lower Peninsula. Orlando Medina, who serves as athletic coordinator for Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse Public Schools, was appointed for a two-year term. He also previously served as athletic director at Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy. They fill positions formerly held by Beal City superintendent William Chilman IV and Romulus High School athletic director Mark Woodson, whose terms ended.
Also, Carmen Kennedy, principal at St. Clair Shores South Lake High School, was reappointed for a second two-year term. The Representative Council is the 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 most prominent points discussed at the Fall Meeting were risk minimization for athletes and possible strategies for making school sports safer. Among topics discussed were raising expectations for coaches’ participation in online safety courses and schools’ management of heat illness; the possible restructuring of practice policies in regards to hot weather; and game rules revisions to enhance safety especially in football, soccer and ice hockey.
The Council reviewed its previous actions on those topics, including discussions in December 2011 that led to the inclusion of health and safety content in online rules meetings. Council members considered a model policy for managing heat and humidity, and also a number of ideas collected during Fall Update meetings with administrators throughout the state.
No action was requested on those items at the Fall Meeting. Complete and vetted proposals are likely to be considered when the Council next meets in March and then May.
PHOTO: Outgoing Representative Council members Mark Woodson of Romulus (left) and William Chilman IV (right) are presented plaques for their service by MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts (middle) during the Fall Meeting.
MHSAA Halts All Activities Through 4/5
March 13, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has directed all member schools to suspend activities in all sports for all seasons – effective Monday, March 16 through at least Sunday, April 5 – to fall in line with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order that all schools close for the next three weeks in order to deter the spread of COVID-19.
All athletic activities to be halted include practices, scrimmages and competitions/games, as well as strength training, conditioning and any other organized sessions and activities in all MHSAA in-season and out-of-season sports.
The suspension of activities applies to sports for all three MHSAA seasons as Spring sports practices have begun, Winter tournaments were suspended Thursday and Fall sports coaches are working with limited numbers of athletes during the offseason.
“By suspending all sports activities for the next three weeks, we are taking an additional step to maintain safety and minimize risk first, and also keep a level playing field for our schools and teams during this time of uncertainty,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “A number of schools across the state already were making this decision, and setting this as the standard across our membership is appropriate especially given the quick pace with which this situation is continuing to evolve. Given the rapid, fast-moving and unprecedented events of this week, the MHSAA will use the time during this all-sport suspension of activities to evaluate all options and next steps which will be shared with schools in a timely manner.”
Updates will continue to be posted as necessary to the MHSAA Website.
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.