Meeting was convened at 4:15 p.m. by Chairman Majikes

ITEM 1 Chairman Majikes called the meeting to order at 4:15 p.m.

Absent but accounted for: Bill King and Mike Ognosky

Visitors present included Don Rogers (District II Solicitor) and Jim Sabatini (former District II Committee member).

ITEM 2 A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded Fred Barletta, to approve the minutes of the December 16, 2014 meeting. All Ayes. Approved minutes will be posted to the District II webpage.

ITEM 3 The treasurer’s report was presented by Frank Victor. Currently the total fund balance is $238,008.86 as compared to a starting fund balance for the year of $217,951.12. Included in the fund balance are total certificates of deposit of $12,607.25 and total savings and checking account balances of $225,401.61.

Following the presentation of the treasurer’s report, a motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the report as presented. All Ayes

ITEM 4 SPORTS REPORTS: The District II Committee received reports on the following:

·         Basketball (Frank Majikes): Chairman Majikes announced that there will be a meeting of the basketball seeding committee on Sunday, February 15th at the WBAC & TC at 9 a.m. to establish the brackets for the tournament. Chairman Majikes also reviewed the schedule for the tournament and the format for the brackets. Following the presentation of the format, a motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the format as submitted. All Ayes. The format will be distributed to member schools and placed on the webpage.

·         Competitive Cheer (Chris Gegaris): Chris Gegaris reviewed the results of the recently completed District II Competitive Cheer Championships and commented that 4 District II schools (Hazleton Area, Berwick, Delaware Valley, and Pittston Area) will be competing at the State Championships in Hershey this Friday and Saturday, January 23rd & 24th. Results can be found on the District II webpage on the Competitive Cheer page.

·         Swimming and Diving (Fred Barletta): Fred Barletta distributed and reviewed the information for the 2015 District II Swimming and Diving Championships. Following discussion, a motion was made by Frank Galicki, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the format as presented. All Ayes. The format will be e-mailed to Athletic Directors and placed on the District II website.

·         Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Jay Starnes presented the format for the upcoming District Wrestling Team & Individual Championships for the committee’s review. All of the 2015 championships will be held in the Kingston Armory. The Team Championships will be conducted on Saturday, January 31st. The Individual Championships will be held on Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st. Following the presentation, a motion was made by Joe Farrell, seconded by Vito Quaglia, to approve the format as presented. All Ayes. Information will be distributed to member schools and placed on the District webpage.

·         Track and Field (Danielle Adams): Danielle Adams provided the dates for the 2015 Track and Field Championships to be held at Scranton Memorial Stadium. The AA Championship is scheduled for May 11th and the AAA Championship is scheduled for May 12th.

ITEM 5 The District II Committee conducted its 2015 Election of Officers retroactive to July 1, 2014. The election of officers was conducted by Frank Victor.

·         Bill Schoen nominated Frank Majikes for the position of Chairman. Frank Galicki seconded the motion and Chris Thomas moved that the nominations be closed. All Ayes

·         Joe Farrell nominated Bill King for the position of Vice Chairman. Pat Patte seconded the motion and Vito Quaglia moved that the nominations be closed. All Ayes

·         Jay Starnes nominated Mike Ognosky for the non-voting position of Secretary. Frank Galicki seconded the motion and Chris Gegaris moved that the nominations be closed. All Ayes

·         Jay Starnes nominated Frank Victor for the non-voting position os Treasurer, with Pat Patte to serve as the Assistant Treasurer. Fred Barletta seconded the motion and Bill Schoen moved that the nominations be closed. All Ayes

ITEM 6 A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Danielle Adams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Juan Loboda, Elk Lake to Abington Heights, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.

ITEM 7 A motion was made by Chad Vinansky, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the immediate eligibility of Namair Murphy, Wilkes-Barre GAR to Wilkes-Barre Meyers, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.

ITEM 8 A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Frank Galicki,, to approve the immediate eligibility of Bryce Waters, Hanover Area to Wilkes-Barre Meyers, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.

ITEM 9 A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve the immediate eligibility of Nevada Strickland, Middletown (NY) to Old Forge, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes

ITEM 10 Committee members had a discussion regarding the basketball scores of recent games involving the Holy Redeemer Girls’ Varsity Basketball team. Following the discussion the committee members, on a motion made by Jay Starrnes and seconded by Chris Thomas, and approved unanimously, asked Chairman Majikes to conduct the following actions:

·         Request game films from Holy Redeemer of the games in question.

·         Discuss the situation with the Administration of Holy Redeemer

·         Review the status of the current probationary period for Holy Redeemer

·         Schedule a hearing as expeditiously as possible and contact the administration of Holy Redeemer, Freeland MMI, and Northwest Area to ensure their availability for attendance at the meeting.

ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes reviewed the summary of the PIAA Board of Directors’ Actions from the meeting of December 11, 2014. Highlights are listed below. You can find the full summary on the District II webpage.

·         Accepted the Football Committee’s recommendations to adopt the new Rawlings R2FB-PIAA football, which will be added to Rawlings football products to be used in PIAA Post Regular Season competition in 2015.

·         Accepted the Football Committee’s recommendation to refer to the Strategic Planning Committee a request of a member school to review and possibly change the classification process in football for consideration at their next meeting.

·         Accepted the Football Committee’s recommendation to increase the heat acclimatization program from 3 consecutive days to 5 consecutive days and have all senior high schools participating in football commence this program on Monday, August 10, 2015 (approved on a first reading basis).

·         Denied a request to move all fall sports practice dates to August 10, 2015 and retain the first inter-school practice or scrimmage date as August 22, 2015.Accepted on a first reading the Tennis Steering Committee recommendations that the remaining matches in an already secured state team match be conducted with no-add scoring effective with the next game regardless of set for PIAA District and Inter-District play; and, adopt, on a First Reading, a switch of the Individual and Team Tournament dates on the PIAA Calendar.

·         Accepted the Wrestling Committee recommendation, on a second reading, to limit the participation by a school to no more than two (2) Multiple School (Dual) Events or Individual Pool Events, to become effective July 1, 2015.

ITEM 12 Chairman Majikes provided the committee members present with information from the PIAA Handbook regarding procedures during school strikes. Information can be found on pages 103 and 104 of the Handbook. It offers the philosophy that interscholastic athletics should not be used as a pawn during contract negotiations between School Boards and Education Associations and provides by-law information on practices including the following:

·         A member school may practice and compete in any scheduled contests during the period of the work stoppage. If this option is elected, a team may practice only the length of time, each day that it would have practiced had school been in session.

·         A member school may opt to practice, but not play contests during the period of the work stoppage. If this option is elected, a team may practice only the length of time, each day that it would have practiced had school been in session.

·         A team must have completed the minimum length of preseason practice as specified for the sport by the PIAA by-laws, before the first contest of each season.

·         If a member school’s practice has been interrupted by a strike for more than (3) consecutive days after the minimum length of preseason practice has been completed, that school must have had three (3) days of practice prior to resuming its schedule.

·         The decision as to whether to practice and/or play rests solely with a member school’s School Board.

·         If a contest is postponed, it may, by mutual agreement between the two member schools, be rescheduled. Inability to reschedule the contest will result in forfeiture by the closed member school.

ITEM 13 A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Fred Barletta, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes

Meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Ognosky

Mike Ognosky

District II Secretary/Web Master