September 12, 2005
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors today accepted a proposal from Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University to host the inaugural IHSA state final in competitive cheerleading. The meet will be held on Friday-Saturday, March 10-11, 2006. Horton Fieldhouse, adjacent to Redbird Arena, will serve as a staging and warmup facility for teams prior to their appearance in the main arena.
Competition at the inaugural meet will be held in three, or possibly four, divisions. Schools with adjusted enrollments of 660 or less will compete in the Small Team division, schools of 661 to 1765 will compete in the Medium Team division, with larger schools in the Large Team division. If enough schools show interest, competition in a Coed Team division will also be held. A total of 292 of IHSA’s 751 member schools have entered teams in the state series so far.
"We are very pleased to be able to hold the initial IHSA competitive cheer state meet in a first-class facility like Redbird Arena," said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. "We’ve been anticipating this event ever since the membership approved a season limitation for cheerleading three years ago. It’s been exciting to bring the competitive cheerleading community under the IHSA umbrella and build toward this goal."
Following is a recap of Board action regarding each of the committee reports and Terms and Conditions recommendations:
Other Action
1. The Board accepted the resignation of Dr. Katherine Flanagan of Chicago (Manley), secretary of the Board and commended her for nine years of service. Dr. Flanagan was first appointed to the Board in October, 1996, to fill the Division 1 seat vacated by Linda Layne of Chicago (Fenger).She has since won election three times.To fill the remaining two years of Dr. Flanagan’s term, the Board appointed Dr. Joyce Kenner of Chicago (Young).
2. The Board accepted a proposal to name the main conference room the "Ola Bundy Conference Room" in recognition of Miss Bundy’s 29 years of dedicated service to the IHSA and its member schools. Miss Bundy served as an Assistant Executive Director from 1967 until 1996, the same year she was enshrined in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.
3. The Board approved an increase in the fees paid to adjudicators in IHSA Music contests from $100 per five-hour period to $125.
4. The Board approved the renewal of the licensing agreement with Visual Image Photography, Inc. (VIP) for a period of five years. VIP takes posed and action photographs at all IHSA state final events and markets the images to interested persons on its Web site at www.vipis.com.
Eligibility Rulings
1. Sustained the Executive Director’s ruling that a student is ineligible at Danville (H.S.) under the provisions of By-law 6.021. Last fall, the student transferred from Hoopeston (H. Area) to Danville (H.S.) and competed in cross country even though he was ineligible with regard to his residence. He subsequently transferred back to Hoopeston to finish the school year and has now transferred back to Danville in association with a move by his family.
Other Appeals
1. Sustained the Executive Director’s ruling that Quincy (Notre Dame) should not receive a waiver from the 1.65 multiplier on non-boundaried schools with enrollments over 450.
2. Sustained the Executive Director’s ruling that Rock Island (Alleman) should not receive a waiver from the 1.65 multiplier on non-boundaried schools with enrollments over 450.
3. Sustained the Executive Director’s ruling that Wheaton (St. Francis) should not receive a waiver from the 1.65 multiplier on non-boundaried schools with enrollments over 450.
4. Sustained the Executive Director’s ruling that Breese (Mater Dei) should not receive a waiver from the 1.65 multiplier on non-boundaried schools with enrollments over 450.
5. Reversed the Executive Director’s ruling and granted Chicago (Leo) a waiver from the 1.65 multiplier on non-boundaried schools with enrollments over 450.
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 this month’s agenda:
By-Law Proposals: The Board received an update on by-law amendment proposals.So far two proposals have been submitted by a member school principal to the IHSA Office. The deadline for proposals is October 4.
Activities Week:Assistant Executive Director Anthony Holman briefed the Board on plans for NFHS Activities Week, which will run from October 16 to 22.