MHSAA Officials Registration Open
June 17, 2013
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations by mail and online for game officials for the 2013-14 school year and hopes to build on a program started last year and aimed at recruiting new officials from high schools’ current graduating classes.
The MHSAA again has provided each member high school with two complimentary officials registrations to be awarded to graduating seniors designated by their athletic directors as having the skills and interest in continuing their involvement in MHSAA athletics through officiating. For 2012-13, 27 graduates took advantage of this opportunity to register free of charge.
High school seniors selected do not have to pay registration fees for the next school year, and will receive assistance from MHSAA staff in connecting with local officials’ associations and receiving training opportunities. Graduates who registered during the first year of the program came from the following schools: Adrian Lenawee Christian, Carleton Airport, Dearborn, Detroit International Academy, Detroit Aisha Shule-W.E.B. DuBois Prep Academy, Detroit Southwestern, Engadine, Grand Haven, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, Imlay City, Ishpeming Westwood, Jonesville, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, Lowell, Mackinaw City, Marquette, Mayville, Negaunee, New Boston Huron, Owendale-Gagetown, Owosso, Oxford, St. Ignace LaSalle and West Branch Ogemaw Heights.
For other new and returning officials, those who register online again will receive a $5 discount off their processing fees. A $12 fee is charged for each sport in which an official wishes to register, and the online processing fee is $30. Officials submitting registration forms by mail or on a walk-up basis will incur a $35 processing fee. Officials registered in 2012-13 will be assessed a late fee of $30 for registration after July 31. The processing fee includes liability insurance coverage up to $1 million for officials while working contests involving MHSAA schools.
Online registration can be accessed by clicking “Officials” on the Home Page of the MHSAA Website. Forms also are available online that can be printed and submitted by traditional mail or hand delivery to the MHSAA Office. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA at 1661 Ramblewood Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48823, by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at [email protected].
There is an officials' registration test for first-time officials and officials who were not registered during the past school year. The test consists of 45 questions derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, which also is available on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website. Additional 50-question exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Manuals for both sports also are available on the Officials page.
MHSAA Survey Shows Continued Lower Rate of Schools Charging Participation Fees During 2021-22
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 28, 2022
Although participation in high school sports rebounded significantly at Michigan High School Athletic Association schools during the 2021-22 school year, the percentage of member schools charging participation fees remained near its lowest of the last two decades after a major reduction during 2020-21 when fall and winter activities were affected by COVID-19.
Only 40 percent of MHSAA member schools charged participation fees during the 2021-22 school year, following 41 percent using them during 2020-21 – after 48 percent of member schools reported charging them during the 2019-20 school year, when athletics operated normally until the pandemic resulted in a shutdown that March. The dips into the low 40s were the lowest percentages of schools assessing fees since the 2006-07 school year.
The MHSAA participation fee survey has measured the prevalence of charging students to help fund interscholastic athletics annually since the 2003-04 school year. The percentage of member schools charging fees crossed 50 percent in 2010-11 and reached a high of 56.6 percent in 2013-14 before falling back to 50 percent or below during recent years.
Of the 690 schools (92 percent of membership) which responded to the 2021-22 survey, 279 assessed a participation fee, while 411 did not during the past school year. For the purposes of the survey, a participation fee was anything $20 or more regardless of what the school called the charge (registration fee, insurance fee, transportation fee, etc.).
Class A schools remained the largest group charging fees, with 57 percent of respondents doing so. Class B and Class C schools followed, with 39 and 34 percent charging fees, respectively, and 33 percent of Class D schools also charged for participation.
Among schools assessing fees, a standardized fee for each team on which a student-athlete participates – regardless of the number of teams – has shown for a number of years to be the most popular method, with that rate at 46 percent of schools with fees for 2021-22. Next were 32 percent of assessing schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete, followed by 14 percent assessing fees based on tiers of the number of sports a student-athlete plays (for example, charging a larger fee for the first team and less for additional sports).
The amounts of participation fees have remained relatively consistent over the last decade. For 2021-22, the median annual maximum fee per student was $150, and the median maximum fee per family was $300. The median fee assessed by schools that charge student-athletes once per year was $120, and the median fee for schools that assess per team on which a student-athlete plays was $75.
The survey for 2021-22 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website. Click for the full 2021-22 survey report.
As reported earlier this month, participation in MHSAA-sponsored sports rebounded 6.6 percent in 2021-22 from the previous school year.
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.