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Rep Council Wrap-Up: Fall 2021
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 9, 2021
The authorization to use digital ticketing for Winter and Spring postseason events, an extension of the waiver for previous academic credit record and an adjustment to regular-season multi-media video regulations were the most notable actions taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its Fall Meeting on Dec. 3 in East Lansing.
Generally, the Council takes only a few actions during its Fall Meeting, with topics often introduced for additional consideration and action during its meetings in winter and spring. This Fall Meeting saw the Council take only a few actions, while the majority of discussion centered on topics expected to receive more specific consideration at MHSAA sport committee meetings this winter.
The Council approved the continued use of the GoFan digital ticketing system for the MHSAA’s Winter and Spring Tournament events. The MHSAA first began using GoFan digital ticketing during the 2020-21 school year to comply with state contact tracing requirements due to COVID-19, and continued with digital ticketing via that service this fall. Tickets from GoFan are purchased on a phone or other “smart” device, eliminating the exchange of cash and other contact at an event site.
Also due to COVID, and the related challenges of remote learning, the MHSAA had suspended its previous academic credit record rule requiring high school students to pass at least 66 percent of a full credit load during the previous academic term (semester or trimester) in order to be eligible for athletic activity. Middle school and junior high athletes must pass at least 50 percent of a full credit load. Based on member school feedback and input, the Council voted to continue suspension of this rule through the rest of the 2021-22 school year, but reinstate the regulation beginning Aug. 1, 2022. The MHSAA’s previous academic credit record rule serves as a minimum standard; school districts may mandate higher academic requirements for eligibility.
The Council also approved an adjustment to the MHSAA’s video broadcast rules for regular-season events. Previously, those broadcasts could only be delivered to audiences through the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Network, or via a school-controlled webpage or social media page. The Council approved a change to provide an opportunity for schools, for regular-season events only, to allow MHSAA Tournament-credentialed media to broadcast their home events live, as long as a school is a member of the NFHS Network – which includes more than 520 of the MHSAA’s 750 member high schools. Postseason rights continue to belong to the MHSAA and its media partners.
A number of remaining discussions focused on results from this fall’s Update Meeting survey completed by administrators during the MHSAA’s annual presentations across the state. The Council considered survey data on a number of questions including whether the 11 and 8-Player Football Playoffs should be expanded to include nearly all schools. The Council also discussed questions on sports physicals, classification for postseason tournaments, sports-related summer transportation and contact days for coaches from teams not in season to work with their athletes, among other topics.
The Fall Meeting saw the addition of Ann Arbor Greenhills athletic director Meg Seng and Westland John Glenn athletic director Jason Malloy to the 19-person Council. Seng was appointed to a two-year term, and Malloy was appointed to finish the two-year term of former Romulus Summit Academy North athletic director William McCoy, who became part of the MHSAA staff in July. Also, Kris Isom, athletic director at Adrian Madison High School, was appointed to a second two-year term.
The Council reelected Scott Grimes, deputy superintendent for Grand Haven Area Public Schools, as its president; and Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, as secretary-treasurer. Novi High School principal Nicole Carter was elected Council vice president. (Grimes will become Grand Haven Schools’ superintendent Jan. 1.)
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 1,500 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.
![Heat Ways is an MHSAA publication on heat management.](/sites/default/files/2023-08/230801_heat_2H.png)
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.