Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes of the IESA Board of Directors

April 2, 2004

The regular spring meeting of the Board of Directors was held on April 2, 2004, at the IESA Office, Bloomington, Illinois.

The meeting was called to order by President Spiezio at 10:00 a.m. The following members were present: Lee, Hochstatter, Spiezio, Irwin, Link, Isackson, Silvey, Birkey, Fitzanko, Ervin, Cox, Lewis, Carr, and Graham. Also present were Steve Endsley, Nicole Schaefbauer and Julie Cochran from the IESA staff.

Motion by Isackson/Hochstatter to approve the January, 2004, regular meeting minutes as presented. Carried.

Mr. Graham presented the treasurer's report. Motion by Graham/Cox to add $13,820.00 to the office equipment budget line item to reflect the recent purchase of office automobiles and to approve the treasurer's report. Carried.

Division Reports

Division C--Mr. Spiezio was contacted by a school in his division regarding a decision made at the January, 2004 meeting that changed the softball season beginning in 2005. No action was taken.

Division I--Mr. Birkey informed the Board that he had received a letter from the principal of Monticello concerning a basketball situation. Other members of the Board mentioned they had received a letter about the same situation from a Monticello fan. As Mr. Endsley and Mrs. Schaefbauer had already replied to the principal's letter and to the schools involved in the incident, no action was taken by the Board. Mr. Birkey also stated he felt the sportsmanship of fans has deteriorated.

Division J--Mr. Fitzanko was also contacted by a school in his division regarding the decision that changed the softball season beginning in 2005. No action was taken.

Division M--Mr. Carr commented that only a couple Class A schools in his area were capable of hosting a track sectional and that it makes it difficult on those schools who host.

Assistant Executive Director Report

Mrs. Cochran presented information to the Board about the possibility of hiring an official evaluator for each class of the state softball tournament. The idea was tabled until the June meeting for the administrative staff to discuss the feasibility as it relates to all sports.

Associate Executive Director Report

Mrs. Schaefbauer presented information to the Board about an incident that took place in a sectional basketball game involving poor game management by Ford Hts. Cottage Grove. Mr. Endsley was directed to send a letter to the administration of Cottage Grove and to share the response from Cottage Grove with the IESA Board of Directors. Once the response has been received and shared with the Board, further discussion by the Board will take place.

A letter from Aurora was presented to the Board asking for special permission to participate in the Hershey's track meet hosted by the Fox Valley Park District. Motion by Link/Lee to not allow students to participate in those events which are identical to IESA track and field events. Carried.

Executive Director's Report

Mr. Endsley informed the Board about a conference meeting he will be attending on April 13, positive feedback about the new online registration system, a wrap-up of the Grade School Field Trip Day, and that a representative from Morton Buildings will stop by the office on April 14 to have a preliminary discussion about an addition to the building. The date of the annual IESA golf outing is set for Monday, June 14 at The Den in Bloomington. Additional information about the golf outing will be posted on the IESA website.

Old Business

The Board was updated on the upcoming elections for Divisions A, C, E, K and L.

Information concerning the National Federation Summer Meeting was distributed and discussed.

Board members were informed of their Division winner that was selected for the 6th annual Scholar Attitude Award. The luncheon to honor the 14 individuals selected is set for April 29 in Bloomington.

Information was presented about the interpretation of the use of the Safety Base that was tabled from the January meeting. Motion by Link/Isackson to change By-Laws 4.0133 and 4.0234 so the interpretation regarding the use of Safety Base is exactly the same as interpreted in the National Federation baseball and softball rule books. Carried.

New Business

A discussion was held concerning the possibility of holding a board retreat to discuss long range plans/goals of the Association. It was decided to hold such a meeting on the Saturday after the January, 2005 meeting.

The three year contract with A & M Products who supplies the trophies, plaques, and ribbons will expire at the end of the 2003-04 school year. Preliminary figures for the next three years have been received. At Mr. Endsley's request, A & M is redesigning the regional plaque. Once the new design is viewed by the Board, a decision will be made as to which design will be used. Motion by Ervin/Cox to approve a three-year contract with A & M Products. Carried.

Due to a conflict with the IHSA music organizational date in 2006, motion by Graham/Cox to change the date of the IESA solo and ensemble contest from April 9 to March 25. Carried. Exec. Director's note: The pocket calendars that will be distributed to all schools this fall will reflect this change. In addition, the three-year calendar that is posted on the website also reflects this change.

The recommended sites for next year's state tournaments was presented to the Board. Motion by Isackson/Graham to approve the sites as recommended. Carried. Exec. Director's note: For a complete listing of 2004-05 state sites, please click here.

Mr. Endsley presented information on a new postage machine and software. New machine and the software would be $580 per month for a 57 month lease. The current postage machine will be required by the USPS to be replaced in two years necessitating some change by the Association. It was decided to continue to use the current postage machine and discuss changing at a later date.

Board Committee Reports

There were no Board committee reports. The By-Laws committee has a meeting set for June 10; the Finance committee will meet June 4.

President Spiezio recessed the meeting @11:45 for lunch and re-convened the meeting at 12:15 p.m.

Advisory Committee Reports

Basketball--Mr. Carr presented the recommendations of the basketball advisory committee which met on March 4, 2004.

Motion by Carr/Isackson to require all fans to wear shirts when attending any IESA state series contest. Carried.

Motion by Carr/Isackson to add to the By-Laws the following statement: "Schools hosting IESA state series contests that do not uphold the By-Laws governing the conduct of those contests may be subject to sanctions as determined by the Executive Director. Carried.

Motion by Hochstatter/Silvey to change By-Law 2.122 so it is required that at least one basketball official used for officiating in regular season contests is licensed by the Illinois High School Association and that it is recommended that two IHSA licensed basketball officials be used for all regular season contests. Carried.

Motion by Carr/Isackson that when inclement weather alters the designated playing site of a regional tournament game, the higher seeded team will host the game unless schools mutually agree to a different site. Carried.

Motion by Carr/IFitzanko that when inclement weather alters the designated playing site of a sectional tournament game, the playing site will be determined by a coin-flip. Carried.

Motion by Carr/Ervin to add to the By-Laws the following statement and to the Questions and Answers "Sectional hosts shall not schedule regular season contests of any activity on sectional dates. "

Q: I am a sectional host and will be hosting a regular season contest in an auxiliary gym in my facility. Separate dressing rooms will be used for the regular season contest. Is this allowed?

A: Yes. The primary playing court reserved for the sectional game nor the locker rooms that would be used for this game would be affected.

Q: I am hosting a girls' basketball sectional. Can I conduct a boys' basketball practice on the sectional game floor prior to the sectional game?

A: Yes. If the practice is being held on the sectional game floor, the practice must be concluded and the locker rooms vacated at least one hour prior to the scheduled game time.

Carried.

Motion by Carr/Irwin that three officials be hired to work the boys and girls sectional games. Motion Defeated.

Motion by Carr/Birkey for all 8th grade games to be played using seven minute quarters. Motion Defeated.

Motion by Carr/Fitzanko to not adopt a mercy rule for the 2004-05 school year. Carried.

Motion by Hochstatter/Lewis to allow the 7AA girls, the 7AA boys, and the 8AA girls basketball finals to be played at two different sites within the same city for the first and second round games. Carried. Exec. Director's note: This is a pilot experimentation to accommodate team travel without affecting the number of teams that advance to the finals. Tentative plans call for the Saturday games of the top bracket (four games) to be played at Site A starting at 11:00 a.m. and the bottom bracket (also four games) to be played at Site B starting at 11:00 a.m. Monday's quarterfinal games would then have the bottom bracket playing at Site A and the top bracket playing at Site B, with the first games at each site starting at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday's semifinal and Thursday's final games would then be played at Site A starting at 6:00 p.m. Compare this to the traditional Saturday starting time of 9:00 a.m. and finishing around 9:00 p.m. and on Monday starting at 4:00 p.m. and finishing around 9:30 p.m. Schools will miss less school, it will be less taxing on the host school, and in all likelihood no school will have to spend an overnight on Friday to prepare for an early Saturday contest. If this proves successful, discussion will take place to determine if it can be incorporated into all four girls tournaments and all four boys tournaments.

Motion by Hochstatter/Silvey for the IESA By-Laws committee to study a recommendation that sportsmanship evaluation forms would be distributed to all teams participating in the state series. Carried.

Motion by Carr/Lee for the IESA By-Laws committee to study a recommendation that sportsmanship cards that would require a coach's signature be turned in to the host school prior to participating in the regional, sectional, and state final tournaments. Carried.

Volleyball--Mr. Cox presented the recommendations of the Volleyball Advisory Committee. Motion by Cox/Silvey to adopt revised seeding procedures for baseball, softball, basketball, and volleyball as presented. Carried. Exec. Director's note: This is for clarification only--no changes were made to the seeding rules that have been in place for several years.

Motion by Cox/Lewis to remove the cheerleader sponsor and 12 cheerleader spots from the Volleyball Regional Entry Form. Carried.

Motion by Cox/Silvey to add the following Questions and Answers to the Volleyball Terms and Conditions:

Q. Can my 7th grade team sit on the bench during the 8th grade tournament?

A. No. Only those players listed on the regional entry form can be on the playing area and the team bench.

Q. Can my fans and 8th grade team be on the floor for warm-ups shagging balls during the 7th grade state tournament series?

A. No. Only players, coaches and managers listed on the regional entry form are permitted on the playable area during warm-ups and introductions.

Carried.

Motion by Cox/Isackson to add the following Question and Answer to By-Law 3.090:

Q. Can individuals participate in a camp after they have lost in the state series?

A. Yes. Once a team loses in the state series, the season is complete and the individuals from the team may participate in camp or club activity.

Carried.

Exec. Director's Note: Rally scoring was discussed during the advisory committee meeting. No change will be made to the scoring system for the 2005 season. Traditional side-out scoring will be used again next year. Schools will be surveyed in January, 2005 regarding attitudes toward rally scoring.

Wrestling--Mr. Lee presented the recommendations of the Wrestling Advisory Committee. Motion by Lee/Hochstatter to add a By-Law that no team shall be allowed to participate in the regional without official entries submitted at the regional seeding meeting. Carried.

Motion by Lee/Isackson to add the 215 lb. weight class to the existing classes and to start the state finals on Friday 30 minutes earlier. Carried.

Motion by Lee/Hochstatter to add $5.00 to the head officials pay at regional and sectional and $15 to each state final official's pay. Carried.

Motion by Lee/Lewis to add the following sentence to By-Law 4.0533: "During the state series, all teams shall weigh-in together with their coach present. If even one wrestler is absent, the team shall wait until all members are present before they begin their weigh-in." Carried.

Motion by Lee/Cox to change By-Law 4.0563 and add a Q & A as follows: Once the seeds have been determined, no switching of seeds is permitted. This includes wrestlers from the same school who are seeded that are in the same bracket.

Q: A school has two wrestlers in the 135 lb. weight class. One wrestler receives the 2nd seed and the other wrestler receives the 3rd seed. Is it permissible to move the 3rd seeded wrestler to the top bracket?

A: No. The seeded wrestlers shall always remain in the exact spot where they were seeded.

Motion by Fitzanko/Silvey to approve the 2005 Grand Marshals as recommended. Motion Defeated. Motion by Lee/Fitzanko to approve Dan Fulscher, an official from Lincoln and Rob Jahn, retired coach form Bolingbrook Humphrey, as the 2005 Grand Marshals. Carried.

Sportsmanship-Mrs. Cochran presented the recommendations of the Sportsmanship Advisory Committee. Motion by Lee/Cox to adopt the following mission statement for the sportsmanship program: "All participants in the IESA are responsible for promoting, teaching, enforcing and recognizing the highest standards of sportsmanship within the student participants, coaches, administrators and fans involved in the IESA sponsored interscholastic competitions and activities." Carried.

A committee recommendation to require attendance at rules meeting in all sports did not receive a motion and therefore died.

A committee recommendation to require School Board approval for participation in the IESA Sportsmanship Program did not receive a motion and therefore died.

Motion by Irwin/Lee to add the following as By-Law 5.124: "If a school has any coach ejected from two contests for unsportsmanlike conduct in a school year, that school's administration shall be required to communicate in writing with the Sportsmanship Review Panel on the steps the school is taking to address the issue. The panel may recommend additional sanctions to the Board of Directors if they deem necessary." Carried.

Motion by Hochstatter/Irwin to add the following as By-Law 5.1241: "The Sportsmanship Review Panel shall consist of an IESA administrative staff member, a member of the sportsmanship advisory committee as well as no less than one member of the Board of Directors." Carried.

Motion by Lee/Cox to add as By-Law 5.125 the following: "Any school that receives two ejections in a school year, that school administration shall be required to communicate in writing with the Sportsmanship Review Panel on the steps the school is taking to address the issue. The panel may recommend additional sanctions to the Board of Directors if the deem necessary." Carried.

A committee recommendation that would prohibit any coach or player from continuing to play or coach in the state series if they are ejected from a contest in the state series did not receive a motion and therefore died.

Motion by Hochstatter/Irwin to add as By-Law 2.091: "The IESA and its Board of Directors strongly suggest an administrator or school representative (other than the coach) be in attendance at all home contests." Carried.

Motion by Irwin/Cox to add as By-Law 2.092: "The IESA and its Board of Directors recommends that a school have a policy in place when dealing with fan ejections." Carried.

Motion by Lee/Lewis to add as By-Law 2.093: "For all contests, game officials will be required to fill out and submit a special report form for an ejection within 48 hours of the incident. In addition, the host school administrator on duty should also complete a special report form within 48 hours and return it to the IESA office following any ejection. Carried.

Motion by Ervin/Fitzanko for the IESA to hold a state wide contest in the fall for member school students to name the sportsmanship program and design a logo for the IESA Sportsmanship Program. Carried.

Motion by Fitzanko/Birkey to add a page in all state tournament programs to recognize good sportsmanship. Carried.

Other New Business

President Spiezio appointed Mr. Fitzanko, Ms. Isackson, and Mr. Birkey to the Nominating Committee.

Motion by Lee/Cox to approve the expenses of the meeting. Carried.

There being no further business, President Spiezio adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve Endsley
IESA Executive Director