At a meeting of the PIAA District Chairmen during the upcoming PIAA Track & Field State Championships in Shippensburg, the future eligibility of several underclassmen who participated in one of two national indoor meets in March -- many of them high profile -- will be decided.
There are rules that may have been violated. There were numerous complaints made to the PIAA. There will be a consistent application of any decisions. But the bottom line is, some PA athletes may not be able to compete during the indoor season of 2005-2006.
We\'ll start with the rules.
There are two basic regulations that govern high school athletes in Pennsylvania who want to compete in so-called post-season \'national meets.\' You can\'t compete representing your school, and you can\'t qualify based strictly on your performance during the season. The first is a violation of the out-of-season rule, and the second violates the all-star rule.
Violate the first rule; which includes not using the school name, nickname or uniform; and the school is liable for some sort of sanction - usually being asked to develop a plan of internal education to prevent it from happening again.
Violate the second rule and the athlete could lose eligibility. And the application of the penalty is not an option for the PIAA - it\'s mandatory.
The exception to either of these rules are seniors, whose eligibility is exhausted with the completion of the season. Seniors compete and sleep a lot easier than their underclassmen teammates. The rules apply to all PIAA sports. Specifically, the PIAA assumed jurisdiction for defining the indoor track season years ago. And the season ends on the day of the PTFCA Championship.
The meets.
The two meets in question are the National Scholastic Indoor Championship (NSIC), held in New York March 11-13, 2005, and the Nike Indoor Nationals (NIN) held March 12-13.
According to PIAA Executive Director Bradley Cashman, there are two big differences between the meets that help to differentiate which rules may or may not have been violated. The Nike meet, Cashman believes, is \"somewhat open.\" The New York meet, on the other hand, has qualification \"standards\' which Cashman interprets as meaning athletes qualify \"strictly on their performance during the season.\"
Additionally, he says, the New York meet, which uses the words \'national\' , \'scholastic\' and \'championship\' in its name, infers an all-star meet. On the other hand, the Nike meet\'s name does not infer an all-star meet. \"That will be a little easier to explain. But New York is going to be difficult for a school to explain.\"
With the Nike meet less endangered of being labeled an all-star meet, the PIAA\'s concern is that wearing the school uniform \"violates the out-of-season rule.\" Because violation of that rule carries a penalty not sustained by the athlete, Cashman says \"I don\'t think you will find anyone will be declared ineligible for next year.\" Nike eliminated the possible all-star rule conflict by not using the words \"scholastic\" or \"championship\" in their name.
The complaints.
Over 50 letters have been sent to Pennsylvania schools about apparent violations of both rules. 24 of the letters were sent to District 1 schools, with Districts 3 and 7 also receiving more than a few.
During the close of the indoor season and the period between the PTFCA State Championship and the two national meets, the PIAA received calls from athletic directors, parents and coaches asking about their athletes competing in either meet. The PIAA\'s advice, according to Cashman, was \"don\'t let them compete.\"
Apparently, many of those who called took the PIAA\'s advice and didn\'t go. When AD\'s, parents and coaches saw that other Pennsylvania athletes were competing in the meets, many of them called the PIAA again to ask why some schools could go, but they couldn\'t.
With so many calls, the PIAA could not ignore the rules. An investigation ensued, and thanks to sites like PennTrackXC.com, Dyestat.com and other sites that cover the sport, results were readily available, as were photos of athletes clearly wearing school uniforms.
What the meets say.
Both NSIC and NIN believe they do the best they can to make sure the athletes and schools that compete don\'t have to face any future eligibility challenges.
On the NSIC website, they posted the following: \"The NSIC is a USA Track and Field sanctioned event. Our meet is run by USA Track and Field-Metropolitan and falls outside of the jurisdiction of the National Federation of High Schools indoor season and the present state sanctioning controversies.\" Additionally, the meet posted instructions for athletes that gave them the option to wear their school uniforms.\" Meet Director Dorothy Clinton has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The Nike meet, managed by the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF), tries to do everything it can to meet as many state requirements as possible. According to co-founder Jim Spier, \"as far as we know, we abide by as much as possible.\" Spier says they call on their 21 years of experience in running meets such as theirs, along with relationships in the sport, to keep in tune with all the changes. But Spier cautions that it is the school, coach and athlete who are ultimately responsible for knowing their own state\'s regulations.
That\'s a sentiment echoed by Cashman when talking about the schools. \"It\'s incumbent upon the schools that they understand the rules.\"
The next steps.
Because there are so few out-of-season rules, Cashman doesn\'t feel that the board of the PIAA will amend the rules they have. \"They may clarify the rules, but it\'s unlikely they\'ll change the rules.\"
The District representatives get together to discuss the issue and its enforcement consequences at their May board meeting. Cashman says the aim is to reach a consensus so that the rules are enforced consistently across all districts.
\"We may come of out of the New York meet with some kids losing eligibility. It\'s more likely that schools will be sanctioned from the use of school uniforms at the Nike meet.\"
If there are athletes who lose eligibility or schools that are sanctioned, there is an appeal process. \"Schools make their case to their district in writing, and may make an oral presentation with a good reason not to impose the sanction.\"
Schools have already responded to the letters, giving their view. But one coach who has athletes who face the ultimate penalty of losing their eligibility next indoor says that moves like this could erode participation at the high schools. \"Clubs are where it\'s at. High school sports are dying because they won\'t let the kids compete in big meets. If you don\'t compete for your school, you\'re OK. As for me, I feel like I\'ve been kicked in the stomach.\"
But, Cashman concludes, the responsibility doesn\'t just lie with schools to know the rules. \"In my opinion, coaches and parents are just as responsible for preserving the eligibility of student-athletes as are the principals and athletic directors of their schools.\"