FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2010


Board creates Rural Division for rural school competition

GAINESVILLE - The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted unanimously today to create a new division to provide additional opportunities for competition for private and public schools in rural areas. 

The Rural Division would be comprised of member high schools in communities which have been designated as rural by the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED) and whose student enrollment is 500 or less.  The classification shall be limited to boys and girls basketball, baseball, football, boys and girls soccer, softball and girls volleyball.  The creation of this division is contingent upon acceptance by a representative number of potential members.  Further details will be determined during the reclassification discussion at the Board of Directors meeting in November.

“The vote was unanimous, sending a great message of hearing the concerns from our small rural schools, and that the Board is willing to create an opportunity for fair and equitable competition for those schools that have a limited student population pool,” said Executive Director Roger Dearing.  “This was a vote that helps about 40 to 50 schools, and hurts no one.”

The Board denied another recommendation of the Urban/Rural Committee to investigate the use of a “clearinghouse” for international student eligibility similar to the clearinghouse system utilized for school accreditation, and that no more than one international student be eligible to participate on each varsity level team.  A proposal to base classifications on a school’s student population for all grade levels offered at a school (sixth-12th grades) was also denied.

In other action, the Board of Directors:

• Elected Keith Summers, assistant principal of Blountstown Middle School, as the president-elect.

• Elected Susie Morris, athletic director of Munroe Day School (Quincy), to the Section 1 Appeals Committee Private School seat.

• Approved the following meeting dates for the 2010-11 school year: Board of Directors, Sept. 26-27, 2010; Nov. 21-22, 2010; Jan. 23-24, 2011; Apr. 17-18, 2011; June 13-14, 2011. Sectional Appeals, Aug. 10-13, 2010; Sept. 3, 7-9, 2010; Oct. 5-8, 2010; Nov. 2-5, 2010; Dec. 7-10, 2010; Jan. 4-7, 2010; Feb. 1-4, 2011; Mar. 1-4, 2011; Apr. 5-8, 2011. Representative Assembly, Jan. 10-11, 2011.

• Approved the tentative budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

• Endorsed additional language to Bylaw 3.2.3.3 that states “…under the direction of a single principal and located on the same campus…,” excluding ninth-grade centers, for consideration by the Representative Assembly.

• Approved 28 schools (18 high schools and 10 middle schools) for provisional membership for the 2010-2011 school year.

• Approved acceptance of continuing membership for schools for the 2010-2011 school year.

• Approved acceptance of approved nonmembers for the 2010-2011 school year.

• Approved a recommendation to include the following language for Form EL3, “Consent and Release from Liability”: “pursuit of litigation, injunctive relief, legal action impacting my child (individually) or my child’s team in the FHSAA state series contest shall be entered into Alachua County Circuit Court,” and required language as reflected in Florida Statute 54.9.09(3)(b).

• Approved a recommendation to include the following language as an addition to the current policy on investigations conducted by the Association: “Allegations and/or protesting actions of another school received less than 45 days prior to the beginning of state series competition in a sport may not be concluded prior to the conclusion of the sport’s championship series.  Member schools (or persons defined in Policy 36.2.1.1) who intentionally withhold information impacting state series participation shall be considered unethical and unsportsmanlike and addressed in accordance with Policy 41.”

• Approved a recommendation to establish additional fees of $50 per team exceeding the four-team limit in preseason classics and jamborees in baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, girls volleyball and wrestling, and to designate the higher-seeded team of the district tournament bracket as the home school for that contest.

• Approved a recommendation of the Tennis Advisory Committee to rank every player on a school’s entry list for both singles and doubles in order of ability from 1-12.  If a player is replaced due to absence, injury or illness, that player will be permitted to return to the line-up if a team advances to the next round of tennis play-offs.

• Approved tentatively a recommendation of the Tennis Advisory Committee to adjust the 2010-11 season to begin and end one week earlier to accommodate Easter weekend and FCAT testing. Practice will start on Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, and the FHSAA Finals will be held April 18-22, 2011.

• Approved tentatively a recommendation to adjust the 2010-11 seasons of lacrosse and boys weightlifting to begin and end one week earlier to accommodate Easter weekend.  Lacrosse practice will begin Jan. 10, 2011 and boys weightlifting practice will begin Jan. 31, 2011.  FHSAA Finals in both sports will be held Apr. 15-16, 2011.

• Denied endorsement of a change in Bylaw 9.5.3 to allow participation by sixth to eighth grade students in combination schools on the sub-varsity level only, for consideration by the Representative Assembly.

• Heard a discussion on the pilot program allowing students attending non-member schools to participate in interscholastic contests representing the student’s home-zoned school.

• Heard a discussion on changing from aluminum to wooden bats in baseball.

• Heard a discussion on the ESPN Rise High School Invitational Tournament.

• Heard a presentation on a pilot program for boys and girls soccer, in which state semifinal games would be played at a school instead of a central FHSAA Finals venue.

About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. It has a membership of more than 770 middle and senior high schools, and sponsors postseason competitions to determine the official state high school champions in 30 different sports. The 16-member FHSAA Board of Directors is the executive authority of the Association.

Contact for media:
Laurel Ring
Public Relations Specialist, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
lring@fhsaa.org