FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2003
Board approves name change for Hall of Fame
GAINESVILLE – The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors today approved changing the name of the FHSAA Hall of Fame to the "Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame," effective with the 2004 induction class.
The name change more accurately reflects the purpose of the Hall of Fame – recognizing and celebrating the achievements of administrators, coaches, officials and student-athletes who have made significant contributions to the association.
"With the recent induction of two student-athletes, we felt the name needed to be more representative of all the members of the Hall of Fame while also reflecting the association's new name," said Commissioner Robert W. Hughes. "A lot of folks have had the impression with the old name that our Hall of Fame is only for administrators."
The Board of Directors also approved moving the dates of the Class 1A and 2A FHSAA Track & Field Finals to Thursday and Friday, April 29-30, 2004 from Friday and Saturday of that same week to avoid a conflict with University of Florida graduation ceremonies.
In other action, the Board of Directors:
• Approved the recognition of lacrosse as an interscholastic sport beginning with the 2004-05 school year.
• Gave final approval to a $3.14 million operating budget for the 2003-04 school year.
• Approved the following amendments to the "Administrative Guidelines, Regulations, Policies and Procedures of the FHSAA Board of Directors" for the 2003-04 school year as printed in the "2003-04 FHSAA Handbook": Policy 19, "Guidelines for Advisory Committees," relative to clarifying that the Florida Athletic Coaches Association representative serving on the Athletic Directors Advisory Committee is a voting member; Policy 35, "Policy on Recruiting," relative to adding FACTS Tuition Management to the list of recognized financial aid evaluation organization; and Policy 7, "Financial Policies," and Policy 41, "Penalty Code," relative to changing the administrative fees assessed for late filings of financial reports.
• Approved the following recommendations of the Weightlifting Advisory Committee: to change weigh-in procedures for sectional qualifying meets and FHSAA Finals state meets to stipulate that a competitior's weight class as listed on the school's official entry list shall be the weight class in which the competitor shall compete provided he or she successfully makes weight at the weigh-in; and to modify FHSAA Finals qualifying procedures to stipulate that the top lifter only in each section, as well as the next nine lifters at-large statewide, shall advance to the state meet in each weight classification.
• Approved the following recommendations of the Track & Field Advisory Committee: to establish synthetic or rubber as the "preferred" track surfaces for all state series meets; to recommend the presence of a certified athletic trainer or medical staff at all state series meets; to require all events in FHSAA Track & Field Finals state meets to be officiated by FHSAA-registered officials, pending availability; and to prohibit the use of students in a "lead official" capacity at state series meets.
• Heard a recommendation from Commissioner Hughes that, in lieu of creating a "Supervisor of Officials" position, the FHSAA staff will work closely with the Officials Advisory Committee to determine what additional services the FHSAA can provide contest officials, noting that, upon Dr. John Stewart's hiring, the Associate Commissioner of Athletic Operations and Officials position was restructured to allow Stewart to spend more time with the FHSAA contest officials program.
• The Commissioner Search Committee reported that a proposed job description and timeline for advertising, interviewing and filling the position will likely be presented to the Board of Directors for its consideration at its November meeting.
• Heard a report on unsportsmanlike conduct totals for the 2002-03 school year; baseball had the most coach ejections of any sport, while soccer retained its status as tops in student-athlete and overall ejections.
• Got a first look at the Association's new championship trophies and medallions.
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of 700 middle, junior and senior high schools.
The FHSAA Board of Directors is the executive authority of the Association, establishing guidelines, regulations, policies and procedures within the framework of the Association’s bylaws. The Board of Directors also has the sole authority over all terms and conditions of participation and competition in the FHSAA state championship series. The Board of Directors meets five times annually. Its next meeting is Nov. 23-24, 2003 at the FHSAA headquarters in Gainesville.
Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
