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: Mike Ognosky, Frank Victor, Danielle DiPietro, Tom Finan, Frank Galicki, Don Kanavy, Jim Marcks, Tony Rusnak, Ross Scarantino, PhilCappellini
Advisors Present: Jim Sabatini, Phil Latinski
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Ray Lowery, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the minutes of the November 15, 2006 and December 3, 2006 meetings. All Ayes
ITEM 3 Chairman Majikes reviewed the following District II sports classification
enrollments for the Winter 20006-2007 and Spring 2007 sports seasons:
Ø Boys’ Wrestling: District II has 30 schools enrolled in boys’ wrestling with 18 “AA” teams and 12 “AAA” teams. He also reviewed proposed changes to the District II Dual tournament. The changes will be placed on the web site for review. Classifications and current standings can be checked on the District II web site.
Ø Boys’ Basketball: District II has 50 schools enrolled in boys’ basketball with 12 “A” teams, 18 “AA” teams, 14 “AAA” teams and 6 “AAAA” teams (7 with Williamsport from District IV in the II/IV sub regional). Classifications and current standings can be checked on the District II web site.
Ø Girls Basketball: District II has 49 schools enrolled in girls’ basketball with 10 “A” teams, 18 “AA” teams, 15 “AAA” teams and 6 “AAAA” teams (7 with Williamsport from District IV in the II/IV sub regional). Classifications and current standings can be checked on the District II web site.
Ø Boys’ Swimming and Diving: District II has 18 schools in boys’ swimming and diving with 13 “AA” teams and 5 “AAAA” teams.
Ø Girls’ Swimming and Diving: District II has 23 schools in girls’ swimming and diving with 18 “AA” teams and 5 “AAAA” teams.
Ø Softball: District II has 48 schools in softball with 13 “A” teams, 16 “AA” teams, 14 “AAA” teams and 5 “AAAA” teams.
Ø Baseball: District II has 49 schools in baseball with 13 “A” teams, 17 “AA” teams, 13 “AAA” teams and 6 “AAAA” teams.
ITEM 4 The PIAA State Office has confirmed the participation of Montrose and
Delaware Valley in the PIAA “Sportsmanship” initiative.
ITEM 5 The PIAA State Office has announced its partnership with Market Street
Sports Group based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. MSSG has marketing experience working with the Buffalo Bills as well as a number of minor league baseball and hockey teams including the Hershey Bears. MSSG will market the various PIAA championships.
ITEM 6 Chairman Majikes reviewed the final disqualification reports for Football, Field Hockey and Soccer during the 2006 season:
Ø In Football, District II had 14 total disqualifications in 2006, all involving players. 12 disqualifications occurred at the Varsity level and 2 at the Junior Varsity/Junior High level. This compares to 9 total disqualifications in 2005, all involving players. 7 occurred at the Varsity level and 2 at the Junior Varsity/Junior High level.
Ø In Field Hockey, District II had 4 total disqualifications in 2006. 3 of the disqualifications involved Varsity players and 1 disqualification involved a coach at the Junior Varsity/Junior High level. This compares with 1 disqualification in 2005, a Varsity player.
Ø In Soccer, District II had 24 disqualifications in 2006. 14 were boys’ varsity players, 5 were boys’ junior varsity/junior high players, 2 were boys’ varsity coaches, 1 was a boys’ junior varsity/junior high coach, 1 was a girls’ varsity player and 1 was a girls’ varsity coach. This compares with 26 disqualifications in 2005 – 21 boys’ varsity players, 2 boys’ junior varsity/junior high players and 3 boys’ varsity coaches.
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes reviewed the PIAA Weight Control Program Highlights for wrestling in 2006-2007. The Pennsylvania Athletic Training Society certified approximately 600 assessors statewide and established 7 appeals sites for Hydrostatic weighing and Bod Pod (Air Displacement Plethysomography). There were 77 appeals from 39 schools, 53 involved 10th through 12th graders, 17 involved 9th graders and 7 were for 7th and 8th graders. Reminder that as the season progresses coaches must enter all weigh-ins and results after each dual meet or each dual meet tournament competition. Coaches only need to enter the initial weigh-in for individual tournaments. They need to also enter tournament results into the OPC (Optimal Performance Calculator). All distributed information is then placed upon the PIAA website, www.piaa.org, on the wrestling page.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes reviewed with the committee members the results of the recent “multi-subject survey of PIAA member schools”. The survey focused on three major areas:
Ø The extent of boys playing on girls’ sports teams and girls playing on boys’ sports teams; injuries sustained by athletes playing against members of the opposite sex; the policies being used by member schools in relation to participation in sports against students of the opposite sex;
Ø School policies and incidents relating to illegal use of alcohol, drugs, and other controlled substances;
Ø Other matters of interest to the Association including age waiver requests, sports officials, and rates of injuries.
ITEM 9 Chairman Majikes reviewed a recommendation from the PIAA State Office to the National Federation that it require the use of eye protection for all Field Hockey participants that meets the current American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard for field hockey.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes reviewed a proposal from District VII regarding a proposed change to Article VI, Transfers, Residence and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws. Copies of the proposal were distributed to District II Committee members present.
ITEM 11 Tom Jenkins reviewed the PIAA Football Steering Committee Meeting. Chief items on the agenda included a proposal to expand the football classifications from the current 4 classifications to 8; a proposal to prohibit football playoff teams from playing consecutive Inter-District contests at the same site; and, a review of the 2006 PIAA Football Championships.
ITEM 12 Chairman Majikes reviewed a recent allegation made by an anonymous source regarding the possible recruitment of student-athletes for athletic purposes from Valley View to Mid Valley. Included in the material provided to the District II committee for their review at this time were the following:
Ø A letter from Mark W. Mekilo, Esquire, Senior Assistant Council for the Office of the Democratic Leader of the Senate of Pennsylvania to Brad Cashman, PIAA Executive Director, outlining the allegations made by an anonymous source and asking the PIAA to investigate the matter;
Ø A copy of the anonymous letter to Mr. Cashman outlining the various allegations in the recruitment;
Ø A response from Brad Cashman to Mark W. Mekilo outlining the PIAA procedures upon the receipt of anonymous allegations;
Ø A response from the administration of Valley View High School reporting that they have investigated the incident and allegations and arrived at the decision that the allegations made in the letter “are not factual based on information gathered during this investigation.”
Ø A response from the administration of Mid Valley High School reporting that “they are satisfied that there has been no violation of any PIAA rules and that there is no proof to say otherwise.”
A motion was made by Ray Lowery, seconded by Rich Walton, to accept the investigative report submitted by Valley View and Mid Valley High Schools regarding the issue. All Ayes
Chairman Majikes directed the District II Secretary to communicate this finding to both Valley View and Mid Valley and commend them for their immediate response on this issue.
ITEM 13 Chairman Majikes offered his congratulations to Frank Galicki, District II Committee Member, on his recent selection as a member of the officiating crew for the PIAA AA State Football Championship.
ITEM 16 A motion was made by Joe Lalli, seconded by Dino Galella, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary