June 13, 2005
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors acted on recommendations from eleven Advisory Committees Monday (June 13) at its regular June meeting.
"Our advisory committees meet on an annual basis, usually soon after the completion of the state series in that sport or activity," said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. "Each advisory committee assesses the terms and conditions for its state tournament series, and all other facets of the sport or activity which may apply to the site of its state final event, and which may apply during the regular season."
Following is a recap of Board action regarding each of the committee reports and Terms and Conditions recommendations:
1. Approved a recommendation requiring that players appear in school-approved apparel during the shoot-around sessions at the state final tournaments.
2. Approved a recommendation that clarifies that no special measures will be taken to accommodate participants in the Three-Point Showdown who do not appear at the scheduled time. Competitors who appear late will not receive additional warm-up time, and competitors who miss their slot completely will be disqualified.
3. Approved a recommendation that limits the use of the NFHS Mercy Rule to regular-season tournaments only. The tournaments must choose to implement the rule and must be held prior to February 1, 2006.
4. Approved a recommendation that the Board review the Grouping and Seeding Policy as it applies to all bracketed team sports.
1. Approved a recommendation that removes the formal certification process for bowling balls. The process had outlived its original intent. Coaches will still be responsible for certifying the team's bowling balls and carrying the IHSA Certification Form.
2. Approved a set of recommendations that reduces the total number of individual bowlers (not on an advancing team) who advance from sectional tournaments to the state final from 40 to 30. This move addresses overcrowding on Friday of the state finals. At each of the 12 sectionals, the number of individuals automatically advancing to state will be reduced from 3 to 2. The number of at-large individuals advancing to state will increase from 4 to 6.
3. Approved a recommendation changing the formula for determining which at-large bowlers will advance from the sectional tournament to the state finals. The new formula compares the score of each potential at-large bowler with the average individual score of each team entered in the sectional (the “individual field average”). This number is determined by computing the average team score and dividing by five. Those 6 at-large individuals who are the most pins over their sectional's “individual field average” will advance to state.
4. Approved recommendations that change the makeup of the field on the Saturday of the state tournament. The number of individuals (not part of an advancing team) who advance from Friday's preliminaries to Saturday's finals will increase from 20 to 30. The number of advancing teams will remain at 12. On Saturday, the cut between round 3 and round 4 will be eliminated. All teams and individuals that qualify for Saturday's finals will bowl all day.
5. Approved a recommendation that states that the formula for team seeding at the sectional level shall be to calculate the team's current season averages of all conference and non-conference matches for the top 5 bowlers who have participated in a minimum of 15 varsity games.
1. Approved a recommendation that in order to host a regional or sectional meet, a school must provide a vaulting table.
2. Approved a recommendation that alters the seeding policy for girls' meets. The scores used for team seeding will be from meets where the team score was determined by adding four scores in all events, with the average of the top three being used for seeding purposes.
1. Approved a recommendation that confirms that for seeding purposes, any match that ends in a shootout must be counted as a win or a loss and not a tie.
2. Approved a recommendation that Class A sectional first-round and quarterfinal and Class AA regional quarterfinal matches be played on the field of the higher-seeded team.
3. Approved a recommendation that regional and sectional matches played on weekdays start between 3 pm and 4:30 pm, and that sectional final or super-sectional games played on weekdays start between 3 pm and 7 pm.
4. Approved a recommendation that if a Class A sectional final or a Class AA super-sectional match is suspended at any point in the contest, the match must be continued the next day from the point of suspension unless the coaches agree to consider the match complete. If the match cannot be completed by the start of the state tournament, the team with the lead will be declared the winner. If the match is tied, a coin flip will determine which team advances.
5. Approved a recommendation permitting the same number of cheerleaders to appear at the state finals as have cheered since the first match of the state series.
1. Approved a recommendation requiring that coaches volunteering for the sectional diving panel be selected by a vote of all the head coaches with teams in the sectional.
2.
Approved a recommendation adjusting the following qualifying
standards:
Girls
200-yard freestyle:
1:58.69 to 1:57.99
Boys
100-yard breaststroke: 1:02.19
to 1:02.99
3. Approved a recommendation moving the start of the diving preliminaries at the state final meet from 8:30 am to 9 am.
1. Approved a recommendation that removes the requirement that a list of participants be submitted to the regional manager. The body fat certification form now serves this purpose.
2. Approved a recommendation that adds a new method to the tie-breaker system used to seed wrestlers for the regional tournament. The system now includes: (a) head-to-head competition, (b) record versus common opponent, (c) vote of the coaches, (d) [the new method] winning percentage, with each regional setting a minimum number of matches required, and (e), flip of the coin.
3. Approved a recommendation adding a new period for skin checks at the state final tournament from 3 pm to 6 pm on Thursday.
4. Approved a recommendation that moves the start date for the two-pound growth allowance from January 15 back to January 1.
5. Approved a recommendation that will allow overtime matches to be resolved by an experimental NFHS rule. Each wrestler would have the choice in a 30-second tie-breaker period. If the score is still tied, a flip of the coin would give one wrestler the choice as in the current tie-breaker procedure.
6. Approved a recommendation that requires each school to provide a copy of its body fat certification form to the opposing school at dual-meet weigh-ins and to the tournament manager for all tournaments.
7. Approved a recommendation that requires all appeals to body fat testing results be made within seven calendar days of the data's entry in the certification database.
8. Approved a recommendation that moves the first date that body fat can be tested to Monday of Week 19 on the IHSA calendar.
1. Approved a recommendation defining a “team tournament” as one that involves at least 4 teams of at least 5 players each, playing at least 3 rounds with 30 minutes per player, which must be team-paired. Starting in 2005-06, schools must play in a least one regular-season “team tournament” to be eligible for the state finals.
1. Tabled a recommendation that would increase the fees paid to judges.
1. Approved a recommendation increasing the number of calculation problems from 6 to 8.
2. Approved a recommendation adding “Interdisciplinary” as a sub-category to the Miscellaneous category.
1. Approved recommendations revising a definition in the Terms & Conditions for debate, individual events, drama, and group interpretation, to state that inappropriate material is “a performance (language or actions) which is a literal, symbolic, or colloquial expression describing or naming anything which is profane and/or vulgar, whether or not suited to a specific character being portrayed.”
2. Approved a recommendation changing the number of votes required to make the All-Contest case in drama or group interpretation to 3 out of 5 judges (from 4 out of 5).
3. Approved recommendations allowing for one extra minute of performance time for schools making the finals of drama and group interpretation. The larger audiences that attend the finals sometimes slow the performance with laughter or applause.
4. Approved recommendations reducing the number of programs required in the verse reading competition from two to one, and setting a time limit of eight minutes.
5. Approved a recommendation eliminating oratorical declamation from the list of events for which proof of publication is required.
6. Approved a recommendation stating that an individual events coach must be able to produce “in a reasonable amount of time” a copy of the selection performed by his/her student.
7. Approved a recommendation that protests at the individual events contest must be filed in writing with the contest manager.
8. Approved a recommendation that the number of medals given at regional and sectional contests in individual events be consistent with the number of entries advancing to the next level. This will change the number of medals given at regional contests from 3 to 4, and the number give at sectionals from 5 to 3.
1. Tabled a series of recommendations that would establish new sportsmanship recognition programs.
The Board also accepted the reports of the Equity, Officials, Sports Medicine, and Athletic Directors Advisory Committees.
1. The Board approved the budget of $6,364,400 for the 2005-06 school term.
2. The Board approved a number of new interpretations to the Constitution and By-laws relating to recently amended Recruiting By-laws 3.070, 3.071, 3.072 and 3.073. New interpretations of the Summer Participation and Unsportsmanlike Conduct By-laws were also approved.
3. The Board approved a Coach Certification Program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
4. The Board approved a process whereby non-boundaried schools subject to the new 1.65 multiplier can seek a waiver. Applications forms will be posted in the Downloadable Forms area of the IHSA Web site. Schools applying for a waiver must supply the following information to the Executive Director by August 1, 2005:
a. List all schools in each of the conferences of which you are a member.
b. Provide a list of all regional, sectional, super sectional and state final championships (excluding football) your school has won during the last five years.
c. Provide a list of all athletic schedules and results (excluding football) for your school's teams for the last five years.
d. List the percentage of students enrolled in your school during the 2004-05 school term who reside in the public school attendance area in which your school is located. If your school is located in a multiple high school district, identify the specific high school attendance area in which your school is located.
e. List the number of public school districts from which your school had students enrolled during the 2004-05 school term.
f. List the unduplicated number of students in your school who participated in any interscholastic activity.
g. Provide copies of all promotional materials used by your school along with printouts of any web pages promoting your school and its sport or activity programs.
h. Provide any additional information you wish to be considered.
5. The Board approved a recommendation, based on data gathered from IADA division meetings last fall, that all seeding meetings be conducted on Wednesday rather than Monday.
6. The Board approved the revamping of the Sanction Policy for interstate events to reflect that the IHSA policy is identical to the NFHS policy.
7. The Board approved a three-year contract with A&M Products of Princeton to provide awards for IHSA sports and activities.
8. The Board appointed Treasurer Greg Bradley as its liaison to the Board of the Illinois Principals Association.
9. The Board suspended the current IHSA Royalty Policy pending changes that will be implemented this summer.
1. Sustained the Executive Director's ruling that a student is ineligible at Champaign (Central) High School for non-compliance with Age By-law 3.061. During the 2005-06 school term he will be completing his seventh and eighth semesters of high school. He will turn twenty years old during the winter sports season.
Discussion Items
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain agenda items that the Board discusses, but upon which it takes no action. Following is a report of those on the June, 2005, agenda:
2005-06 Enrollments and Classifications: The Board received a list of enrollments and classifications for the 2005-06 school term that include the multiplier on non-boundaried schools of 450 or more students. The lists of 2005-06 enrollments, classification changes, and non-boundaried schools, along with additional explanatory material is available online. As of June 13, 2005, there are 750 IHSA member schools with the following classifications for the 2005-06 school term: 417 in Class A, 333 in Class AA.
Legislative Commission Special Session: The Board heard an update on actions taken by the Legislative Commission at its special session on May 9, 2005. The Commission passed a by-law amendment proposal clarify the existing Recruiting By-law. The proposal was subsequently approved by the membership by a vote of 285 to 95. The text of the approved by-law is here.
Travel Policy: The Board heard a report on proposed changes the IHSA Travel Policy. The current policy restricts travel to out-of-state events to no more than 500 air miles one-way. The proposed policy, which will be discussed at the annual Town Meetings in November, would allow teams to travel any distance as long as the trip could be completed with the loss of no more than one school day.
Baseball and Softball Site Proposals: The Board heard a report on the site proposals received for Girls Softball and Class A Boys Baseball. Submitting proposals for Softball were East Peoria (East Side Centre), Mattoon (Graham Stadium), Champaign-Urbana (U of I's Eichelberger Field), and Bloomington-Normal (Champion Fields). Submitting proposals for Class A Baseball were Springfield (Lanphier Park), Peoria (O'Brien Field), Champaign-Urbana (U of I's Illinois Field), Joliet (Silver Cross Field), and Sauget (GMC Stadium). The Board will announce the successful bidders at its August meeting.