March 17, 2008
The Illinois High School Association’s Board of Directors at its monthly meeting Saturday (Mar. 15) in Peoria approved the penalty to be applied to a student who tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The student would be ineligible for 365 days from the date the test results were reported to the student and the school. The student may then apply for reinstatement of athletic eligibility after 90 calendar days, following the successful completion of an approved educational program and a negative test for performance-enhancing drugs.
The Board determined that any team penalties would be determined by the Executive Director on a case-by-case basis under the provisions of Article 1.460 of the IHSA Constitution.
The Board also approved the National Center for Drug Free Sport to provide testing services when the program is implemented in the 2008-09 school term, and approved the language of the random testing consent form that each student and his/her guardian will be required to sign to maintain athletic eligibility.
“We are pleased with the action taken by the Board in regards to our drug testing program,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Kurt Gibson. “Our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee believes the experience Drug Free Sport has with athletic drug testing will be invaluable in the implementation our program, and we’re excited to have an opportunity to work with them. Our committee felt that their experience, expertise, and commitment to education on the use of performance-enhancing substances were the best match for the needs of our program.”
Meeting Dates: The Board changed the dates of three board meetings in the 2008-09 school term to conform with the shift in the standardized calendar:
Election Tellers: The Board approved the appointment of the following principals as election tellers for the 2008-09 school term:
Volleyball Sub-Regional: The Board approved a special sub-regional for three boys volleyball teams in the Metro-East area for the 2007-08 tournament. Granite City, O'Fallon, and Belleville (Althoff) are the only Illinois schools south of Interstate 80 that have entered the tournament. They will compete in a one-day tournament at a local site, with the winner advancing to the finals of the Chicago Heights (Marian) Regional.
The Board upheld the Executive Director's ruling that a student from Danville (Schlarman) High School is ineligible for non-compliance with the provisions of IHSA By-law 3.043 and its subsections.
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 March, 2008, agenda:
National Coach of the Year: The Board received an report that Jerilyn Scardina of Hinsdale (Central) has been named National Coach of the Year (2007) for girls tennis by the NFHS Coaches Association.