2011-2012 MSHSL Athletic Rules and Policies Manual

CONTENTS

GENERAL SECTION

Foreword
Athletic Director's Checklist
Coaches Responsibility: Student Eligibility Checklist
Competition Index for Heat and Cold
General Information
Lightning/Threatening Weather - Board Policy
Multiple Level Teams at Sub-Varsity Levels
Official Balls for MSHSL Tournaments
Official Squad Size Chart
Revenue Sharing Plan for School Reimbursement
Substitution in League Tournaments
Thermal Injury Risk Recommendations
Concussion Legislation Signed By Governor Dayton

FOREWORD

It is the responsibility of an organization that sponsors an extensive competitive program to establish standards and policies for the conduct of each activity. This will insure that the activity is conducted in accordance with the objectives of the organization.

Member schools are responsible for conducting activity programs within the guidelines they themselves establish. This ensures that all competition reflects the educational philosophy of the member schools of the Minnesota State High School League.

League rules, policies and standards have been adopted by the Minnesota State High School League Board of Directors in order to provide, promote, extend, manage and administer a program of extracurricular activities in our schools.

This manual includes the athletic bylaws, policies and tournament terms and conditions for every athletic activity sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League. The manual is designed to serve as an aid to school administrators, athletic directors, athletic coordinators and coaches as they manage and administer the athletic programs for the Minnesota State High School League.

Check the League's Web site at www.mshsl.org for appropriate forms and the most current information.

David V. Stead
Executive Director
Minnesota State High School League

REMINDER TO ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATORS AND COACHES

Athletic administrators and coaches of MSHSL member schools are responsible for adherence to all regulations as published in the current Official League Handbook. In addition to a review of the standards and policies highlighted below, you must review the information at a team meeting WITH ALL OF THE STUDENTS IN YOUR ATHLETIC ACTIVITY. The rules of the MSHSL apply to ALL students, grades 7-12, who participate on a Sophomore, B squad, Junior Varsity or Varsity team in your school.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR SPECTATOR CONDUCT (8/9/05)
In order to elevate standards of sportsmanship and encourage the growth of responsible citizenship among the students, member schools, fans and school personnel, the MSHSL held a Sportsmanship Summit and asked student participants to identify behavior expectations they felt should be in place at every school event.

These minimum behavior expectations provide a foundation upon which member schools, conferences, administrative regions and the League’s Board of Directors can build specific guidelines for activities under their control.

MSHSL Bylaw 409, RESPONSIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATING TEAMS, STUDENTS AND SPECTATORS, speaks to this issue, directly, and Bylaw 409-2 specifically states that, “School officials shall be held responsible for the proper conduct of teams, team members, students and home spectators regardless of where the contest is being held.”

In all MSHSL activities, each participating school shall designate a person or persons from that school to serve as crowd control supervisors or chaperones.  MSHSL tournament staff may require school administrators to contact the tournament manager prior to the start of the tournament game so that they can be immediately contacted to respond to behavioral issues regarding their team members, students/spectators at the tournament site.  Each supervisor or chaperone should be immediately identifiable to the students and to the tournament site ushers and other security personnel.  This will help to coordinate crowd control between school supervisors and tournament site personnel.

MSHSL MINIMAL BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS FOR REGULAR AND POST-SEASON TOURNAMENT COMPETITIONS:

• Respect the American flag and the National Anthem.

• Spectators must wear clothing that covers the entire torso.  Those who do not comply or who wear clothing that is vulgar, obscene or that in some other way inappropriate, as determined by school/tournament personnel, will be removed from the arena/stadium if they do not cooperate with this behavior expectation.

• The use of appropriate language is expected at all times.  Profanity, negative chants, booing, trash talk, name calling, personal attacks or other acts of disrespect are unacceptable and must be immediately addressed by school/tournament administrators.

• Respect the game/contest.  Under no condition shall anyone other than the members of the official squad enter the playing surface.  No one may interfere with the contest in any way.

• Hand held signs, which do not obstruct the view of others, will be permitted provided they are in good taste.  Signs, message boards, “white” boards or other similar items contest/tournament officials deem to be in poor taste will be removed.

• Artificial noise makers (i.e. megaphones, cowbells, sirens, whistles, thunder sticks, and other similar items) are not allowed.

• Laser lights are strictly prohibited.

ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION BROCHURE
School officials are required to provide one (1) copy of the Athletic Eligibility Information Brochure to each candidate for interscholastic teams. The form containing the student's and parent or legal guardian's signature must be placed on file in the school prior to practice or participation in an interscholastic contest in any given year.

ENROLLMENT
Only students in grades 7-12 are eligible for participation in MSHSL-sponsored activities. Students must be enrolled and regularly attending class in the high school or continuation school in your school district.

MASTER ELIGIBILITY LIST
Each school is required to have a completed Master Eligibility List by activity on file in the school.

MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR PARTICIPATION
A member school must be registered and schedule a minimum of three interscholastic A-squad (varsity) games, meets or matches to qualify for League sponsored tournament participation in that sport. Late registrations will be accepted until: Fall Sports - Sept. 15; Winter Sports - Dec. 15; Spring Sports - April 15.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS AND PARENT PERMIT
Any student who intends to participate in high school interscholastic athletics and cheerleading activities must have on file in the school, a record of a physical examination performed within the previous three years. A health questionnaire shall be completed annually and could indicate the need for a physical examination prior to participation. The signature of the parent or guardian approving participation is required.

PROTESTS
Protests against decisions of contest officials will not be honored.

A. League officials will render an interpretation to all parties involved as to the proper application of rules in cases protested if the complete facts are presented, in writing, to the League office. Such interpretations, however, will not alter the outcome of the contest. The decisions of contest officials are final.
B. It is recognized that errors in interpretations and application of rules and in judgment situations are inevitable. However, the orderly and sportsmanlike conduct of high school activities dictates that officials' decisions must be honored and be final.

SCHEDULING OF CONTESTS
Member schools shall not schedule a game or practice on Sunday.

TRANSFER STUDENTS
A student of any grade level (9-12) who discontinues enrollment and attendance in a high school and attends another high school; and who does not meet one of the conditions of the transfer rule as listed in the MSHSL Official Handbook, shall be ineligible to compete at the varsity level at the new school for one calendar year. Please see Bylaw 111, Transfer and Residence.

CONCUSSION LEGISLATION SIGNED BY GOVERNOR DAYTON

Newly passed Minnesota Statute 121A.323 and Minnesota Statute 121A.045. effective for the start of the 2011-2012 school year, now requires the MSHSL to make training and information available about the nature and risk of concussions to every high school coach,

official, student athlete and his or her parents/legal guardians. 

General responsibilities of school districts and the MSHSL as defined by the statute:

• Provide information about the nature and risks of concussions, including the effects of continuing to play after receiving a concussion.  The MSHSL must make this available to all member school coaches, officials, student athletes, and their parents or guardians.

• The information shall include protocols and content consistent with current medical knowledge from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, related to:

o    the nature and risks of concussion associated with athletic activity;

o    the signs, symptoms, and behaviors consistent with a concussion;

o    the need to alert appropriate medical professionals for urgent diagnosis and treatment when a student athlete is suspected or observed to have received a concussion; and

o     the need for a student athlete who sustains a concussion to follow proper medical direction and protocols for treatment and return to play.

•  The League and each member school must keep a record confirming that:

o    each member school coach and each MSHSL official has successfully completed the initial online training and online training at least once every three schools years thereafter; and

o    every student athlete and his or her parent or legal guardian must confirm they were provided information about the nature and risk of concussions.

• A coach or official shall remove a player from practice or competition if the player exhibits any of the signs or conditions consistent with a concussion.  When the player is removed from practice or competition, the player may not return to play until such time the player has been evaluated and approved for return to play, in writing, by a trained provider experienced in evaluating and managing concussions.

Links to the information above were posted on the League’s web page long before this legislation was proposed, and these links can be found at www.mshsl.org , Popular Links, Concussion Protocol.  This information has been updated for the 2011-2012 school year.

Back to Contents

USE OF REGISTERED OFFICIALS
Registered officials shall be employed for all varsity interscholastic contests in adapted hockey, adapted soccer, adapted softball, baseball, basketball, dance team, football, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball and wrestling. When non-registered officials are used for varsity games, that game becomes a scrimmage and cannot count for conference or season records.

MULTIPLE LEVEL TEAMS AT SUB-VARSITY LEVEL
For the purpose of providing opportunities for player participation, schools with sufficient numbers, may sponsor more than one team at the sub-varsity level. For example, a school with 100 sophomores out for the B-Squad program may sponsor 2 B-Squad teams. Each B-Squad team may schedule and play the same number of games scheduled by the school’s Varsity team. Schools shall not sponsor more than one varsity team nor schedule more varsity games than the maximum number of games allowed for that sport. All player participation limits daily and season, shall be strictly applied.

Coaches Responsibility: Student Eligibility Check List

The eligibility of students is the responsibility of that student and the member school. Please review the following information with your players prior to the start of each athletic season. Place a check mark beside each area when you have covered it with your athletes.

REVENUE SHARING PLAN FOR SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENT

The League's Board of Directors has determined that the supplemental allowance for a member school's participation in League-sponsored tournaments will be based on a Revenue Sharing Plan. The process to be followed is identified below:

The Athletic Directors Advisory Committee will review the placement of competitive sections (1/12/94). These assignments will be presented to the Board in April following receipt of the school activity registrations. The minimum placement will be for two years.

SIX-CLASS TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

Subsection, section and state tournaments will be conducted in Class 9-Man, Class A, Class AA, Class AAA, Class AAAA, and Class AAAAA in Football.

FOUR-CLASS TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

Subsection, section and state tournaments will be conducted in Class A, Class AA, Class AAA, and Class AAAA in Boys' & Girls' Basketball.

THREE-CLASS TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

Subsection, section and state tournaments will be conducted in Class A, Class AA and Class AAA in Wrestling, Girls' Dance Team,  Girls' Volleyball, Girls' Softball, Baseball and Boys' & Girls' Golf  

TWO-CLASS TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

Subsection, section and state tournaments will be conducted in Class A and Class AA in the following activities:

SINGLE-CLASS TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

The following activities will be conducted as single class at the section and state level:

TWO-DIVISION TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES

State tournaments will be conducted in CI and PI co-ed divisions in the following activities:

 Back to Contents

SECTION AND STATE TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS

The following rules and regulations have been adopted by the Board of Directors to govern section activities.

ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS
Any school currently enrolled as a member of the League and assigned to a given competitive section is eligible to participate in all approved activities of the League or any subdivision thereof.

NOTE: (1) A school is currently enrolled when it has officially registered for the activities it wishes to sponsor. (2) A member school must schedule and participate in a minimum of three interscholastic "A" team games, meets or matches to qualify for League-sponsored tournament participation in that sport.

ELIGIBILITY RULES
The eligibility rules of the League and the requirements of the Constitution shall govern all participation in all subsection or section activities.

TOURNAMENT  LIMITATION
No team shall be required to play two basketball or two hockey games in any subsection or section tournament on any one day.

PROTESTS
A protest concerning the eligibility of a student should be filed with the region secretary at least three days prior to the opening date of the contest.

OFFICIAL SQUADS

SUBSTITUTION IN LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS

* WBGT = Wet Bulb Globe Temperature = 0.7 (Wet Bulb Temperature) + 0.2 (Black Globe Temperature) + 0.1 (Ambient Temperature)

** FIS = Federation Internationale de Ski (Adapted from reference 2 and the FIS rules)

Board Policy: Lightning/Threatening Weather

Prior to the start of a contest, the host school is responsible for determining whether or not the conditions present a threat to the safety of participants and spectators, and will determine whether or not the contest will begin. Once the contest begins, the officials have the authority to postpone or suspend a contest due to unsafe weather conditions -- that decision may not be over-ruled. School officials also still have this authority. The Superintendent or his/her designee may over-rule an official and suspend or postpone a contest once it has begun. In other words, once a contest has begun either the officials or school authorities may postpone or suspend a contest, and cannot be over-ruled by the other party. When in doubt, error on the side of safety.