Rep Council Wrap-Up: Fall 2014
December 11, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The promotion of junior high and middle school athletics and possibility of allowing younger students opportunities to compete in certain sports highlighted topics discussed by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual Fall Meeting on Dec. 5 in East Lansing.
Although no action was taken, the Council heard findings of the Junior High/Middle School task force created at the 2013 Fall Meeting to consider how the MHSAA should continue to encourage multi-sport experiences at that level and review the possibility of serving sixth-grade students in addition to those in the seventh and eighth grades.
The task force met four times during the 2014 calendar year. It provided support for longer quarters in basketball and football that were recommended by the MHSAA’s Junior High/Middle School Committee and approved by the Representative Council in March. The Junior High/Middle School Committee will consider another task force recommendation in January that would allow sixth graders to participate against seventh and eighth graders in all sports except football and ice hockey without seeking annual waivers from the MHSAA in order to do so. The Council could then review that recommendation when it reconvenes in March. Currently, the MHSAA serves 725 member schools at the 7th and 8th-grade level.
The Council also continued to examine the impact of increasing numbers of international students and additional rules approved in March to equalize the treatment of J-1 and F-1 visa students and standardize their opportunities at both public and non-public high schools.
A package of proposals adopted at the Council’s March 2014 meeting in part allowed for the MHSAA to approve school-operated international student placement programs if they were not listed by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET). The MHSAA for 2014-15 approved five such programs, with the notion that all programs would require CSIET approval moving forward. However, the Council will determine in March if the MHSAA will retain the ability to approve non-CSIET school-operated programs again in 2015-16.
An update also was provided on work to determine if rules regulating out-of-season coaching by school staff should be changed to allow those coaches more involvement with student-athletes out of season. MHSAA staff discussed possible changes with member school administrators at league meetings and then athletic director in-service and update meetings this fall and surveyed athletic directors on the desirability of potential changes in late October. The Council reviewed results of the survey and input from meetings and a schedule of upcoming discussions with coaches associations and league and conference leaders. Further Council discussion is slated for March with possible action during its final meeting of the school year in May.
The Council voted on two matters concerning MHSAA tournaments. E-cigarettes and other smoking devices were added to the list of substances prohibited at MHSAA tournament events. The Council also approved the opportunity for presentation of awards by a sport’s coaches association at MHSAA Finals for that sport so long as awards are to recognize students.
The Fall Meeting also saw the addition of Pat Watson, principal at West Bloomfield High School, to the 19-person Council. He was appointed to a two-year term and previously served as his school’s athletic director and coached baseball and girls and boys basketball. He fills the position formerly held by Carmen Kennedy, principal at St. Clair Shores South Lake High School, whose term ended. Also, Orlando Medina, athletic director at Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse High School, was reappointed for a second two-year term. Don Gustafson, superintendent of St. Ignace Area Schools, was appointed to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee for 2015.
The Council elected Scott Grimes, assistant superintendent of human services for Grand Haven Area Public Schools, as its president; Buchanan athletic director Fred Smith was elected vice president and Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was elected secretary-treasurer. Grimes was elected to fill the position of recently-retired Negaunee Superintendent Jim Derocher, who had served as Council president since 2008. Grimes had served as vice president since 2009.
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 MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.
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.