IHSA Announcements

June 13, 2002

Two IHSA Board Members Retire

Two members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors resigned their positions at the Board's regular June meeting Monday (June 13).

The Board accepted with regret the resignation from Division 2 member and Board President Dennis Garber of Hoffman Estates (H.S.) and Division 5 member Alan Chapman of Normal (Community). Garber, who has been a member of the board since 1993, served as its president since 1996. Chapman served one year on the board. Both are retiring as high school principals and are leaving the Board immediately. There will be elections in their divisions this coming October.

The Board appointed Joe Schlender, principal of Hoffman Estates (Conant), to serve until the next election in Garber's division, and appointed Jerry Crabtree, principal of Normal (Community West), to serve until the next election in Chapman's division.

In addition, there will be two new liaison members to the Board. Dr. Brent McArdle, Lexington superintendent, replaces Dr. Ron Yates, superintendent at Pontiac, as the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) liaison. Terry McCombs, athletic director at Downers Grove (South) replaces Nancy Giebel, athletic director at Glenview (Glenbrook South), as the Illinois Athletic Directors Association (IADA) liaison.

Other Action

The Board took the following other action:

  1. Voted to continue to conduct the state series in Boys/Girls Track and Field as single-sex series and conduct the competition on separate weekends.
  2. Approved several interpretations regarding by-law revisions approved by the membership in last fall's annual referendum. The interpretations will be included in the 2002-03 IHSA Official Handbook scheduled to be shipped to member schools in the annual All-School Supply Mailing August 5-6, 2002. The Handbook also will be available on the IHSA Web Site at www.ihsa.org.
  3. Approved Personnel Policies for the IHSA Staff for the 2002-03 school term.
  4. Approved a five-year contract with Multi-Ad Services, Inc., Peoria, to print IHSA publications, event programs, and other general printing from 2002-03 through 2006-07.
  5. Approved a three-year contract with A & M Products Company, Princeton, to produce team and individual medallions, medals, trophies and other awards from 2002-03 through 2004-05.
  6. Approved an Emerging Sport Policy. The policy covers any sport for which IHSA does not conduct a state tournament series and which a member school elects to sponsor as either a sport under the auspices of its athletic administration or as a club or other informal activity. (Complete policy follows this news release.)
  7. Changed the Board meeting date for April 2003 to Tuesday, April 29 (the day following the annual All-State Academic Banquet. Dates of the 2002-03 Board meetings will be: Monday, August 12; Monday, Sept. 9; Tuesday, Oct. 15; Monday, Dec. 2; Monday, Jan. 13; Monday, Feb. 17; Saturday, March 22; Tuesday, April 29; Monday, June 16.
  8. Approved a reduction in the mileage allotment paid by IHSA from 36 cents per mile to 30 cents per mile to, rules interpreters, officiating clinicians, advisory committee members and others.

Discussion Items

At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain agenda items the Board discusses, but upon which it takes no action. Following is a report of those on the June 2002, agenda:

2002-03 Budget: The Board received preliminary information regarding the components of the Association's annual budget, and discussed the data. The Board will finalize the budget at its regular August meeting, August 12, 2002.

Reduction of State Series: The Board discussed dropping Boys Gymnastics and Debate as state series sponsored by the Association. The Board is scheduled to take action on the status of the two series at its regular August meeting.

Strategic Planning: The Board heard a status report on the Association's second Strategic Plan. Three action teams were authorized Sept. 10, 2001. They were authorized to review these strategies: 1) Equity Practices within the Association; 2) public/private school issues; and 3) IHSA Promotion and Special Events. The Promotion and Special Events report has been given to the Board. The public/private school issues team will reconvene in August. The action team to review structure, governance and operational procedures of IHSA will be getting under way. A total of eight strategies were established for the second Strategic Plan, which was developed April 29-30, 2001, in the IHSA Office. They are:

  1. Review IHSA promotions and special events
  2. Analyze revenue generation and appropriation
  3. Review public/private school issues
  4. Increase the number of women and minorities in all entities of the IHSA
  5. Review the effectiveness of IHSA communications
  6. Review structure, governance and operational procedures of the Association
  7. Review training programs, recruitment and retention of officials
  8. Review equity practices within the Association

Tournament Structure: The Board reviewed a draft of seeding procedures and guidelines for implementing the new tournament structure policy for the 2002-03 school term. Items in the draft include:

  1. 1. Criteria for grouping schools
  2. 2. Seeding and assignment of schools to sites based on seeding and geography
  3. 3. Pairings at all levels within the series structure

Wrestling Weight Control Plan: Heard a progress report of the committee working on the new Weight Control Plan for Wrestling.

Chicago Public Schools Participation: The Board heard a report of the first meeting in Chicago involving members of the IHSA administrative staff and personnel in the Chicago Public Schools who have responsibilities for CPS participation in the IHSA. A second meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 20. At that meeting, IHSA staff will review the entry process and procedures that will be required of each school from the CPS participating in the respective IHSA state series. Beginning with next (2002-03) school term, schools in the CPS will participate in the state series each school chooses to enter at the first level of competition along with all other IHSA member schools.

3rd Annual Officials Conference: The Board heard a status report of the upcoming 3rd Annual Officials Conference. It is scheduled for July 12-13 in Peoria. The Hotel Pere Marquette is the headquarters facility. Certified clinics in all sports will be conducted in addition to the regular conference schedule. Licensed officials, and persons seeking to become licensed as an athletic official, may register through the IHSA Officials Department right up to and including the day(s) of the conference. Advance Registration fee is $25. It will be $35 at the door.

EMERGING SPORTS POLICY

Definition of Emerging Sport

Any sport for which IHSA does not conduct a state tournament series and which a member school elects to sponsor as either a sport under the auspices of its athletic administration or as a club or other informal sports activity shall be considered an emerging sport.

Purpose of Emerging Sports Policy

The Emerging Sport Policy is designed to establish parameters under which schools may engage in competitive sports activity even when state tournament series competition is not available for the sport. It will establish common ground rules and management policies for the sport among member schools and will facilitate the growth of such sports within the established confines of the Association's Constitution and By-laws.

Registration of Emerging Sport Programs

All member schools facilitating participation by students in any emerging sport shall register for participation in said sport(s) with the Association by adopting an Emerging Sport Resolution and filing a copy of said Resolution along with the registration forms supplied by the Association with the IHSA Office. IHSA will utilize Emerging Sport Registration Records to monitor the development of new sport activities in member schools and assist in determining when new state series should be considered.

Dates Sport May Be Conducted

Any school belonging to this Association may organize, practice or compete in an emerging sport at any time during its established calendar for the current school term, unless a specific season has been established.

Eligibility of Participants

Students who participate in emerging sports must be eligible under provisions of IHSA eligibility by-laws 3.000-3.160 with the following exceptions:

  1. Students who are members of an emerging sport team, may with the written permission of the principal, play on one non-school team in the same sport during the time they are a member of the school's emerging sport team without affecting their eligibility. (By-law 3.111)
  2. Students who are members of an emerging sport team, may with the written permission of the principal, participate in a coach, camp or clinic for a maximum of five days during the school term in an emerging sport without affecting their eligibility. (By-law 3.110)
  3. Students who are members of an emerging sport team shall be permitted to participate in all-star competition in that sport directly connected with a non-school program for the sport in which the student competes. (By-law 3.120)
  4. Provisions of IHSA amateurism by-laws will not apply to non-school participation by students in emerging sports. (By-law 3.080)

Management Standards Applicable to Schools

  1. IHSA By-law 2.020, which defines the responsibility of the principal for interscholastic athletic activities, shall apply to Emerging Sports as well.
  2. Member schools shall comply with the provisions of IHSA By-law 2.010 in the management of emerging sport programs with the provision that the following modifications adopted by the Board of Directors shall apply:
    a. Member schools may not form cooperative teams with other schools to sponsor an emerging sport.
    b. Emerging sport teams may participate against established interscholastic teams or registered emerging sport teams from other IHSA member schools; teams directly sponsored by schools which are not members of the IHSA or teams affiliated with schools in other states with the approval of the National Federation member high school athletic association in that state.

Travel and Contest Time Limitations

Emerging sport team contests may not be conducted in whole or in part during school time. The travel limitations of the IHSA Sanction Policy for interstate interscholastic athletic competitions shall also apply unless specific exemption is granted by the Board of Directors.

Annual Report

Member schools sponsoring registered emerging sport programs must file an annual report of participation with the IHSA Office on forms provided by the Association. This data will further assist the Association in determining when a new state series should be conducted.