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: Danielle DePietro, John Coyle, Vito Quaglia, Mary Ruth Tanner, Ben Tolerico, and Joe Farrell.
ITEM 2 Chairman Majikes congratulated committee member Chris Thomas on his selection as the replay official for the 2016 Little League World Series in Williamsport. Good luck Chris!
ITEM 3 Chairman Majikes also congratulated committee member Maureen Williams on her selection to serve on the PIAA State Board of Directors as the Women’s Officials Representative for the upcoming year. Congratulations to Maureen!
ITEM 4 A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the minutes of the July 6, 2016 meeting. All Ayes
ITEM 5 Frank Victor and Pat Patte reviewed the “Statement of Financial Position for Year Ended June 30, 2016” report to the committee. The District ended fiscal year 2015-2016 with a balance of $265,890.54, as compared to the beginning balance of $228,892.59, a net increase in the District II Treasury of $36,997.95. During the course of the year, District II gathered $387,137.35 in revenue and incurred net expenses of $350,139.40. It was also reported that during the course of the 2015-2016 year, member schools received school shares for participation in the football and basketball district playoffs totaling $53,864. A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve the treasurer’s report as given. All Ayes
ITEM 6 The committee discussed the current agreement with NPF Sports regarding the webcasting of District II Championship events in all sports through the 3 sports seasons. Following the discussion, a motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to maintain the current contract agreement with NPF Sports for the 2016-2017 year with the contract to be reviewed at the completion of the spring sports’ season. All Ayes
ITEM 7 SPORTS REPORTS:
· Baseball: Frank Majikes reported that the District Baseball Chairpersons from across the state will conduct a conference call in order to discuss the particulars of the “pitch count” rules for pitchers that will be instituted in the 2017 baseball season. Frank will report back to the committee with the results of that conference call.
· Basketball: Frank Majikes discussed with committee members the content of an email received from Steve Poremba, Mohegan Sun, regarding a request that District II schools provide the Arena with a boys and girls team jersey to hang from the light posts inside the Arena given that the District II Basketball Championships have become part of the Arena events schedule. Following discussion, the committee directed Frank to reach out to member schools in order to gauge their interest and willingness to participate in the project.
· Competitive Spirit: Chris Gegaris explained to the committee members that a copyright issue has been raised regarding the utilization of music during routines at competitions. Member schools are directed to the PIAA webpage, www.piaa.org, and the Competitive Spirit page to review the directions to member schools to be utilized in order to prevent any concerns.
· Cross Country: Bill King announced that the 2016 District II Cross Country Championships will be held at Lakeland High School. Members of the Cross Country committee are currently working on site maps, etc. which will be provided to schools at a later date.
· Filed Hockey: Chris Gegaris announced that Elk Lake High School has dropped its field hockey program for this year. Consequently, all teams in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Field Hockey Conference will now compete in 12 league games.
· Football: Mike Ognosky announced that a Football Committee meeting will be held following Labor Day in order to complete the particulars for the 2016 Football Championships in the 6 classifications.
· Girls’ Tennis: The scheduling for the 2016 Girls’ Tennis Championships will be slightly altered in the team championships as 8 of the 21 AA teams will be competing and 6 of the 10 AAA teams will be entered into the team tournament. The formats will be distributed following the September Committee meeting.
· Lacrosse: Mark Rinaldi announced that he has been informed that Abington Heights will now compete in Boys’ Lacrosse and has petitioned the Wyoming Valley Conference for membership in the League.
· Soccer: Mark Rinaldi announced that the Soccer Committee will meet in September in order to develop the format for this year’s soccer championships. He will communicate that date to the members of the Soccer Committee.
· Volleyball: Maureen Williams asked Mr. Majikes to check with the District IV Chairperson regarding the structure of the subregional tournament in AAA Girls Volleyball. District IV has one team, Shamokin, classified in AAA. She will report back to the committee at the September meeting with a proposed format for the Volleyball Championships.
· Awards: Chairman Majikes explained that Bill Schoen, Pat Patte and himself met to discuss the various concerns regarding the medals and plaques during the 2015-2016 sports’ seasons. After discussion, they are recommending to the committee that a formal bid proposal be developed and distributed to interested vendors in time for action at the September meeting. Sports Chairs are asked to provide to the District II Secretary the number of medals and plaques they will need for the upcoming season taking into consideration the numerous classification changes in many sports. That information will then be placed in a bid proposal. A bid format based on the last time bids were secured for this purpose was distributed and discussed. Following the completion of the discussion, a motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to develop bid specifications for medals, awards, and plaques and that the bid be released by District II with a due date in time for action at the September Board Meeting. All Ayes
· Officials: Bill Schoen reminded schools that they still have the right to request clearances from sports officials on site even though that information is available on the PIAA webpage. Also, reminder to officials that they should carry paper copies of those clearances with them to sites should they be requested. Chairman Majikes congratulated the District II sports officials who were recently honored for their 30 years of officiating for PIAA and were presented a watch at the recent PIAA Officials’ Convention in Harrisburg. Chairman Majikes directed the Secretary to place an announcement on the webpage congratulating those officials.
· Sportsmanship: As we move into the 2016-2017 sports season, Chad Vinansky reminds schools that they are required to submit an “ejection” report on any coach and/or student-athlete that has been ejected from a PIAA sponsored contest, regardless of the level of the contest. Schools were delinquent in that responsibility at times last year and must do so as required by the PIAA. If you have any questions you are encouraged to contact Chad for information on where to find those reports.
ITEM 8 The Committee acted upon the following motions regarding student athlete eligibility:
· A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the immediate eligibility of Joseph Ammons, Coughlin to Nanticoke, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the immediate eligibility of Addie Acker, Congress MS to North Pocono, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by John Haas, to approve the immediate eligibility of Jeremiah Acker, Prairie Hills HS to North Pocono, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the immediate eligibility of Keanu Ammons, Coughlin to Nanticoke, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Alahna Balbach, Wyoming Valley West to North Pocono, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the immediate eligibility of Jerrod Brown, Dunmore to Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Mark Rinaldi, to approve the immediate eligibility of Leighf Brown, Cheylan HS to Tunkhannock, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve the immediate eligibility of Austin Cooley, Somerset HS to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the immediate eligibility of Nicholas Corbett, Red Hook HS to Honesdale, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas seconded by Chad Vinansky, to approve the immediate eligibility of Dominic Damon, Nathan Hale HS to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the immediate eligibility of Quinn Daniels, Coughlin to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Mark Rinaldi, to approve the immediate eligibility of Connor Dennis, Springfield HS to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Jat Starnes, to approve the immediate eligibility of Ian Dewar, Loyalsock to MMI, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws, pending completion of all of the required paperwork. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas seconded by Chad Vinansky, to approve the immediate eligibility of Elizabeth Echkart, Lehighton to MMI, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws, pending the completion of all of the required paperwork. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the immediate eligibility of Gregory Green, Abington Heights to Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Ron Collins, to approve the immediate eligibility of Gina Hemsley, Hanover Area to Lake-Lehman, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the immediate eligibility of Heaven Houck, Stafford, Virginia to Honesdale, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Mark Rinaldi, seconded by Bill King, to approve the immediate eligibility of Eric Jeffries, Holy Redeemer to Nanticoke, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by John Haas, to approve the immediate eligibility of Kaitlyn John Klein, Pleasant Valley to Wallenpaupack, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Derrick Kenyon, Central Baptist to North Pocono, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the immediate eligibility of Tracy Kenyon, Central Baptist to North Pocono, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chad Vinansky, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the immediate eligibility of Jessica Kishbaugh, Central Columbia to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the immediate eligibility of Jolene Krzywicki, Wyoming Valley West to Nanticoke, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Mark Rinaldi, seconded by Chad Vinansky, to approve the immediate eligibility of Charles Leo, Lake-Lehman to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the immediate eligibility of Camryn Litjus, Morris NJ to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the immediate eligibility of William McGrath, William West Reserve Academy to Scranton Prep, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Mark Rinaldi, to approve the immediate eligibility of Daniel Meuser, Wyoming Seminary to Dallas, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve the immediate eligibility of Vivian Okoroanyanwn, Marion Charter to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Ron Collins, to approve the immediate eligibility of Dorien Ryans, Pope John NJ to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Chad Vinansky, to approve the immediate eligibility of Rodriko Salas-Warner, Bloomsburg to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Isaiah Sims, Western Wayne to Honesdale, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chad Vinansky, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the immediate eligibility of Jack Stamp, Windsor NY to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Ron Collins, to approve the immediate eligibility of Yonah Wasik, Lake-Lehman to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the immediate eligibility of Zachory Weber, TriBoro Christian to Old Forge, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Mark Rinaldi, seconded by Chad Vinansky, to approve the immediate eligibility of Madisyn Irace, Coughlin to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Gabriella Hughes, Holy Cross to Scranton Prep, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the immediate eligibility of Ilana Cunningham, Wyoming Area to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the immediate eligibility of Alicia Carr, Northwest to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the immediate eligibility of Colin Ennis, Forest City to Scranton Prep, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Gavin Elliott, West Scranton to Scranton Prep, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Chad Vinansky, to approve the immediate eligibility of Frank Hudson, Center Tech to Crestwood, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Mark Rinaldi, to approve the immediate eligibility of Zach Kline, Media to Crestwood, in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
ITEM 9 Chairman Majikes reviewed the highlights of the most recent PIAA Board of Directors Meeting held on Thursday, July 21, 2016. Minutes of that meeting can be found on the District II webpage.
· Suspended protocol and approved the following regarding the retention of records – “unless reasonable grounds exist to retain them for a longer period, PIAA member schools should retain all records (including the CIPPE forms) relating to athletic eligibility of students so long as the student remains eligible and for two years thereafter”.
· Appointed a subcommittee to review data concerning all transfers that occur during the 2016-17 year.
· Reconvening the Baseball Steering Committee via teleconference at a later date in order to develop a Baseball Pitching Rule that complies with NFHS Baseball Rule 6-2-5 regarding a pitch count limit.
· Removed from the table the PIAA Wrestling Steering Committee recommendation for the upcoming year for the number of qualifiers and bracketing for the individual wrestling championships. It was decided to utilize the 20 man bracket for the 2017 Championships.
· Adopted new Track & Field Championship Qualifying Standards for 2017.
ITEM 10 John Haas, Principal of Pittston Area, presented a report on behalf of his school outlining the measures taken following the discovery by the administration of the use of an ineligible player in Boys’ Soccer during the 2015 season. Following the presentation, a motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Mark Rinaldi, thanking John for the thoroughness of the presentation and the quick steps taken upon discovery of the situation. Furthermore, the Committee applauded the plan put in place by the Pittston Area Administration in order to prevent a reoccurrence of the situation. All Ayes
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes provided to each committee member a copy of the PIAA proposed number of entries (qualifiers) and brackets (pairings), by District and by Region, regarding the 2016-17 and 2017-18 PIAA Championships as passed by the PIAA Board of Directors on Wednesday, May 25, 2016. This information will be invaluable to all of the sports’ chairpersons as they schedule and construct their playoff formats for this two year cycle.
ITEM 12 A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Bill Schoen, to retain the present officers of the District II Committee for the 2016-2017 year –
Chairman Frank Majikes
Vice Chairman Bill King
Secretary Mike Ognosky
Treasurer Pat Patte
Financial Consultant Frank Victor
All Ayes
ITEM 12 A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Chad Vinansky, to adjourn the meeting.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary