January 14, 2008
The Illinois High School Association’s Board of Directors at its monthly meeting Monday (Jan. 14) moved forward with a proposal to implement a random testing program for performance-enhancing substances used by athletes who compete in IHSA state series, beginning with the 2008-09 school term. The action was taken after results of a survey of member schools, conducted over the last five weeks, showed that school principals strongly supported such a program.
“With its action today, the Board has taken an important step toward protecting the integrity of the interscholastic experience for high school students in Illinois,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “It is clear our membership understands the serious health risks associated with the use of performance-enhancing substances. Our new testing policy will protect the health of our youth and give students a reason to say no when the pressures mount to take a shortcut. Assistant Executive Director Kurt Gibson, with the support and guidance of the Association’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, has done a great job developing our policy and will continue to spearhead this important project.”
The plan calls for random testing of student-athletes during selected IHSA state series competitions. In advance of the 2008-09 school term, the IHSA Board of Directors will finalize a series of items related to the implementation of the plan. The IHSA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee will continue its work in preparing necessary recommendations and information for the Board and member schools to ensure the program’s start next school year. Over the remainder of the current school term, the Board will finalize the following items:
“Our membership and the Board of Directors have sent an important message today to student-athletes across the state,” Gibson said. “That message reinforces the concern schools have for the safety, well-being, and healthy development of their students. By taking this action, it is our hope that, as the first state to implement this type of testing without a legislative mandate, student-athletes will realize and understand the expectations our schools have for their training for interscholastic competition. Our staff and Sports Medicine Advisory Committee look forward to finalizing the components of our testing plan during the remainder of this school year.”
Bass Fishing Tournament: The Board of Directors heard an update on the proposed Bass Fishing Tournament and authorized the formation of an ad hoc committee to continue studying the issue.
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 January, 2008, agenda:
Opinionnaire: The Board heard the results of a survey of member schools on performance-enhancing drugs, classification, and tournament structure, which was conducted from Dec. 11, 2007, to Jan. 13, 2008.
Wheelchair Basketball: The Board heard an update from Asst. Executive Director Dave Gannaway on the wheelchair basketball tournament to be conducted at the March Madness Experience during the Class 1A & 2A Boys Basketball Tournaments.
Suspended Schools: The Board heard a report from the Executive Director that three schools had been suspended for one year for failing to attend an IHSA Principals Rules Meeting in the past two years. The schools are: Chicago (DuSable Leadership), Chicago (Juarez), and Villa Park (Islamic).
NFHS Strategic Planning: Asst. Executive Director Anthony Holman will represent Illinois on the strategic planning team of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
IHSA Strategic Planning: The IHSA Strategic Planning Team will meet on April 30.
CSIET National Conference on Youth Exchange: Asst. Executive Director Kurt Gibson will be a panelist at the CSIET conference on February 28-29 in Indianapolis.