IHSA Announcement

August 7, 2006

Board Approves Future State Final Sites for
Class AA Baseball, Girls Soccer, Competitive Cheer

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors, at its regular August meeting in the IHSA Office Monday (Aug. 7), accepted bids from three different cities to serve as state final sites starting with the 2006-07 school term:

• Silver Cross Field in Joliet will be the new host of the Class AA boys baseball state final tournament.  The contract will run for five years, through the 2010-11 school term.  Silver Cross hosted its first baseball final in Class A this past June and will continue to host that tournament through 2009-10.

• North Central College in Naperville will continue to serve as host for the girls soccer state tournament finals through the 2010-11 school term.  North Central has hosted both the boys and girls state finals for five years and now will host both for an additional five.

• The competitive cheerleading finals will move into new quarters next year, to U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.  The Coliseum opened in April 2006 and will host the second annual cheer finals on Friday-Saturday, February 2-3, 2007.  The contract is for one year with an option to review and renew.

The Board also heard a report from Asst. Executive Director Kurt Gibson on IHSA initiatives to educate school personnel, athletes, parents, and the general public on the hazards of steroid use and abuse.  Included was a discussion of the new steroid testing policy implemented by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

“Our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee is extremely pleased that the Board supports its efforts in helping our member schools address the growing problem of steroid use by high school students,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Kurt Gibson.

“As we continue to explore the possibility of drug testing during our state series competitions, we will continue to provide as much education on the topic to our schools as we can.  It’s our hope that by developing our new education units on steroids, schools will have another mechanism at their disposal to help student-athletes make better choices.  And it’s the Board’s support of these kinds of testing and educational initiatives that sends the right message to schools, coaches, and student-athletes that there are better, healthier, and safer ways to train than by ingesting harmful and illegal substances.”

A new Board member participated in Monday’s meeting.  Principal Ross Cucio of Oak Lawn (Richards) High School was appointed in April to fill the unexpired term of outgoing Board member John McGraw of Tinley Park High School.  Mr. Cucio’s appointment to the Board will expire at the end of the 2006-07 school term.

Other Action

• The Board approved an increase in the host allowance given to schools who host regional and sectional events in the following sports: cross country, golf, badminton, bowling, gymnastics, tennis, and track and field.  The recommendation will increase IHSA expenses by about $38,740 per year.
  
  
• The Board approved a new “playing-up” policy that allows individual schools to elect to play in a higher class in all sports and activities.  Schools wishing to play up must declare their intention by September 1 of each school year and must make a two-year commitment.  Within any classification system (2-, 3-, or 4-class), a school must play up in all sports and activities governed by that system.  Schools will also have the opportunity to play up in the sports and activities that use special classification systems (football, music, and competitive cheer).
  
  
• The Board declined to alter its position that a foreign exchange program must be fully listed by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) in order for its students to be eligible for interscholastic sports and activities.

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 August, 2006, agenda:

Officials Conference:  The Board heard a report from Asst. Executive Director Dave Gannaway about the 7th annual Officials Conference that was held in Peoria on July 22-23.

Video Sales Report:  The Board heard a report from Asst. Executive Director Anthony Holman on the sales of DVD productions of the 2005-06 finals in boys wrestling, gymnastics, and competitive cheerleading.

Upcoming Public Meetings:  Executive Director Marty Hickman updated the Board on plans for the IADA division meetings and IHSA Town Meetings/Principals Rules Meetings this fall.

All-School Mailing:  The Board heard a report from Asst. Executive Director Kurt Gibson on the recent all-school supply mailing, which was mailed on Friday, August 4.

Financial Aid Information Requirements:  Executive Director Marty Hickman informed the Board that three schools still have not provided the required financial aid information and have been suspended from the Association since May 1, 2006.  They are Chicago (Our Lady of Tepeyac), Lansing (Luther East), and Villa Park (Islamic Foundation).

Other Items

NFHS Citation: John Van Fleet, athletic director at Woodstock High School, has been selected as a 2006 to receive a citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations.  Mr. Van Fleet is one of only eight athletic administrators to be so honored this year.  He will be recognized at the National Athletic Directors Conference on December 12 in Anaheim, California.