FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2007


Board approves final provisions for Inaugural FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading Championships

GAINESVILLE –The FHSAA Board of Directors today gave final approval to the Inaugural FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading Championships to take place during the 2007-08 school year.

The Board of Directors also revised the Association's recruiting policy, authorized an affidavit of compliance that must be signed by all students who change schools for any reason after entering the ninth grade, and selected Danny Sims, superintendent of schools in Jackson County, as its President-Elect.

The interscholastic competitive cheerleading season will begin with the first day of fall sports practice – Monday, Aug. 6 for the upcoming school year – and conclude with the inaugural state championship event on dates to be determined in March 2008. The two-day state championship event will consist of semifinal and final rounds of competition at a central site in eight divisions: four girls-only divisions – small (up to 12 members), medium (13-16 members), large (17-20 members) and extra large (21-26 members); two co-ed divisions – small (1-4 boys on team) and large (5 or more boys on team); and two special divisions – non-tumbling and non-mount. No team in the co-ed or special divisions can exceed 26 total members.

"I made a commitment when I became Commissioner to work toward recognizing cheerleading as sport and cheerleaders as student-athletes," said Commissioner John A. Stewart. "So, I am extremely pleased that the Board of Directors has given final approval to the Inaugural FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading Championships.

"Today's vote is the culmination of months of labor on the part of FHSAA member school personnel, representatives of the high school cheerleading community and the FHSAA staff," said Stewart, who also announced his retirement effective Nov. 1, 2008, to the Board of Directors during the meeting. "I am excited that the Association will crown its first state competitive cheerleading champions next March."

The renamed and revised "Policy on Athletic Recruiting" abandons vague terms like "undue influence" and "special inducements" in favor of more easily understanding concepts such as "improper contact" and "impermissible benefits." The revision also narrows the scope of a school's responsibility from "anyone associated with a school," which literally could mean anyone living in a school community, to "school employees, athletic department staff members, and representatives of the school's athletic interests." Such representatives include student-athletes; members of the families of student-athletes and athletic department personnel; volunteer workers; athletic booster organization members; and individuals, businesses and groups that contribute to the schoo's athletic program or booster clubs.

The "Affidavit on Compliance with the Policy on Athletic Recruiting" was developed at the recommendation of the Independent Student-Athlete Recruiting Task Force, which was commissioned by the 2006 Florida Legislature. Students who change schools, their parents or legal guardians, as well as the principal and athletic director of the school to which they transfer will be required to sign the affidavit and submit it to the FHSAA Office before the student is permitted to participate in interscholastic competition.

"The task force told us that they believed the affidavit would raise the level of awareness of athletic recruiting rules on the part of students, their parents and school personnel," Stewart said. "The task force also believed that by requiring the affidavit be signed by all students who change schools, regardless of the reason or when the change occurs, including the summer, the FHSAA Office will be better able to track their movements and identify trends that might merit investigation."

Sims will assume the board presidency in the 2008-09 school year. He will follow current President-Elect Richard Finlayson, principal of Aucilla Christian Academy in Monticello. Finlayson, who succeeds outgoing President Jeff Malloy, on July 1 told Board members that one of his priorities will be overseeing the selection of Stewart's successor as Commissioner.

In other action, the Board of Directors:

• Approved two new terms and conditions for state series competition. Effective with the 2008-09 school years, schools that wish to participate in the state championship series in any sport will be required to play a minimum of 60 percent of their regular season contests against other FHSAA member schools and will be limited to one trip per season beyond the neighboring states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi in that sport.

• Authorized the Commissioner and staff to proceed with implementation of a one-year random steroids testing program that was mandated by the 2007 Florida Legislature once the bill becomes law. Staff will meet with the bill's sponsors to ascertain their expectations of the program.

• Approved a $15 fee to be assessed contest officials who choose to take their annual rules examination at a testing site rather than through the new online testing system. The $15 fee will apply only to those officials who do not pre-register to take the exam at a testing site during the 2007-08 school year. It wil be assessed all officials who take the exam at a testing site effective with the 2008-09 school year.

• Raised the maximum compensation that a district may vote to pay themanager of its tournament or meet from $50 to $100, and established a new stipend of $50 than may be paid to managers of regional events.

• Changed the date of implementation of the 2-pound growth allowance in wrestling from the Saturday following January 1 (January 6 this year) to December 26 of each year.

• Amended the criteria for establishing certified minimum weights in wrestling by changing the variance in certified weight for assignment to an wrestling weight class from one-half pound to one pound.

• Established maximum fees that may be paid soccer officials in games in which the new double-dual (3-whistle) officiating system is used.

• Approved implementation of the Association's first-ever coaches education program during the 2007-08 school year.

• Authorized a minimum $500 fine to be assessed a school whose students or other spectators storm the playing field, court or pool, with a stipulation that the fine may be increased based upon the severity of the incident.

• Repealed a regulation that prohibits tournament contests and invitational meets from beginning earlier than 3 p.m. The regulation is no longer necessary because of another regulation that limits a school to missing no more than one day of school or part of one day of school a week to travel to, travel from and/or participate in an interscholastic contest.

•Tabled for further study a conceptual "Policy on Enforcement" that would reconstitute the sectional appeals committees and establish a state appeals committee to hear appeals of schools found to have committed major rules violations.

About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 750 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 Sept. 23-24, 2007 at the Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building in Gainesville.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org