BOARD OF CONTROL APPROVES SPRING SPORTS CHANGES AND 2009-2010 BUDGET
Dyer to Return to Board; Divisional Football Proposal to Receive Further Consideration

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control approved a number of recommendations that will impact spring sports and authorized the 2009-10 operational budget at its monthly meeting here Friday.

In track and field, the Board approved details for the wheelchair competition in 2010. Wheelchair athletes will compete with other wheelchair competitors in one division with separate events for each gender. Participation in sectionals with an official time or mark will be required to advance to the State Meet in the 100-, 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter runs or the shot put.

Other approved track recommendations include advancing the top 10 competitors to the finals in all events at the State Track & Field meet, requiring all pole vault helmets to be ASTM certified by 2014, mandating NFHS procedures for starting all races and approval of the 2010 State Meet time schedule.

A significant change increasing the pitching distance in softball for the 2010 season was approved by the Board. The distance from the pitching rubber to home plate will be extended to 43 feet, three feet further than the traditional distance. The Board also supported a recommendation to allow the use of the international tie-breaking procedure for all non-WIAA tournament games when mutually agreed upon.  The rule places a runner at second base to start an inning when a game advances into extra innings. In addition, the higher seeded team in Division 1 will host the sectional semi-finals beginning in 2010.

Approval was granted for a pair of baseball recommendations. One results in the seeding of complete sectionals in Division 1, similar to that of other sports, and the second adds a third four-person umpiring crew to the State Spring Baseball Tournament.

Jim Dyer, president of the Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools, was appointed as the nonpublic at-large representative to the board beginning in December. He replaces Carl Eisman, who is no longer eligible to serve on the Board. Dyer was a member of the Board from 2000-06, including a year as president in 2005-06 while at Pius XI in Milwaukee.   

The Board gave its approval of the 2009-10 zero-based, operations budget of  $7.9 million. The budget reflects a growth in projected income from an increase in regional soccer, lower level football playoff and State Track &Field ticket prices, as well as State Tournament sponsorships and royalties. It also reflects an increase in expenses, including the cost of shipping, insurance premiums, printing, rule books, legal fees, capital expenditures, building maintenance and the anticipated move to the Kohl Center for the State Girls Basketball Tournament.

    The Board also authorized the staff to continue further study and refinement of the divisional football proposal for possible implementation in 2010. Final determination of the plan is scheduled for the Board meeting on Jan. 27, 2010, after review by the Football Coaches Committee, Sports Advisory Committee and the Advisory Council. The Board will discuss the five division rural/urban basketball proposal at its December meeting.

In other discussions, the Board received updates on the Association’s policy and application of school closures resulting from an outbreak of contagious and infectious diseases and viruses. The Board also reviewed the potential Constitutional amendments for membership vote at the Annual Meeting next April, as well as Executive Staff reports on interpretations of multi-sport athlete ejections during the same season and a verification process for schools required to educate students on the harmful effects of using performance enhancing substances.
    
The WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 507 senior high schools and 98 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It will sponsor 25 championship tournament series in 2009-10. For more information, please contact the WIAA office at (715) 344-8580.

# WIAA #

  Todd C. Clark
Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
Director of Communications & Advanced Media
5516 Vern Holmes Dr.
Stevens Point, WI 54482
(715) 344-8580
(715) 344-4241 (fax)
tclark@wiaawi.org
www.wiaawi.org

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