The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors met for their regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on February 17, 2016, where the Board was informed that registration for the first-ever IHSA Road Race will open online for member schools during the week of February 22. Member school Athletic Directors will receive an email notice when registration officially opens.
The inaugural IHSA Road Race will unfold on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at Heartland Community College in Normal. Any individual who will be a high school student during the 2016-17 school year, including incoming freshmen, are eligible to race in one of its three divisions, which include the Boy’s Division, Girl’s Division, and Wheelchair Division. The race is free to participants, who can register online in the IHSA School Center by having a coach or administrator enter them.
“We are excited for the unofficial start of the high school sports year when the IHSA 5K Road Race debuts in July,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “Our hope is that this event will unite students from different schools all over the state to compete in a fun environment. We are proud to add another event that expands on the opportunities we are able to offer high school students in Illinois.”
The races are tentatively scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. An awards ceremony will follow at 10:30 a.m. Medals will be awarded to the Top 5 individual finishers in each division. The exact schedule and a map of the 5K course will be released online by the IHSA in the coming months.
All participating high school students must be accompanied by a school representative, complete a waiver, and have an active physical on file with the school by the date of the Road Race in order to participate.
Individuals interested in volunteering to work the IHSA Road Race should contact Kurt Gibson (
KGibson@ihsa.org) or Coordinator of Special Programs, Kayode Adegoke (
KAdegoke@ihsa.org).
ACTION ITEMS
No action items
ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Minutes from all Advisory Committees can be viewed by clicking
here.
1. The Board approved the consent items from the Advisory Committees in the following sports & activities: Boys & Girls Cross Country, Boys & Girls Golf, Boys & Girls Volleyball, Boys & Girls Tennis, Football, Sportsmanship, Student Advisory, Athletes with Disabilities and Athletic Administrators.
Consent items are recommendations that received approval from the sport/activity advisory committee, the Athletic Administrators Advisory Committee and the IHSA staff. Consent items can be viewed by clicking
here. No non-consent items were approved in the meeting.
Some consent items of note include:
Boys & Girls Cross Country
1. Prohibits the running of unauthorized timed or untimed races on the state final course in the days preceding the state final races.
Boys & Girls Golf
1. For the entire state series, the head coach and one assistant coach will be allowed to coach anywhere on the course until his/her player’s golf ball lies on the putting green.
Previously, coaching had to cease when the first player in the group reached the green.
APPEALS & ELIGIBILITY RULINGS
1. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Grayslake (North). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.022.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain items the Board discusses, but upon which no action is taken. The following is a report of those items from the February 17, 2016, agenda:
1. The Board held a discussion on protocol for reducing sports and activities due to low participation, as well as adding new sports and activities. The discussion included a review of the Southwest Suburban Conference’s protocol. Further discussions will take place at a future meeting.
2. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director that all member schools on probation have met the requirement of attending an annual IHSA Principals Rules Meeting via a make-up meeting at the IHSA office on January 12.
3. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on a Special Olympics Conference Associate Director Kurt Gibson attended in early February.
4. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the 2015-16 IHSA Officials of the Year.
Click here for the list of the honorees.
5. The Board heard a report from the Assistant Executive Director Stacey Lambert on the 2016 IHSA All-State Academic Team presented by Caterpillar.
Click here to see a video announcing the honorees.