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, Bill King, Mary Ruth Tanner, Chris Thomas, Chad Vinansky and Mike Ognosky.

ITEM 2 A motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded Ron Collins, to approve the minutes of the December 21, 2016 meeting. All Ayes. Approved minutes will be posted to the District II webpage.

ITEM 3 Curt Camoni and Rob Judge of RailRiders Baseball discussed the organization’s continuing interest in permitting District II teams to use the baseball field as well as encouraging participation in the February 11th coaches’ clinic to be held at PNC Field in Moosic. Members were also invited to the annual FanFest celebration scheduled for January 28th at PNC Field. Over 40 high school and tournament games have been scheduled at PNC Field for the upcoming season and the RailRiders are encouraging even more utilization in the future. Opening night is April 10th and all schools are invited to have their baseball and softball programs represented. Planning for District II’s Baseball Championships over Memorial Day Weekend was also discussed and the committee commended Mr. Camoni and Mr. Judge and all members of the RailRiders organization for the close partnership between them and District II.

ITEM 4 A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Maureen Williams, to accept, with regret, the resignation of Vito Quaglia, Wyoming Area, from the committee and acknowledged his efforts over the past several years in furtherance of interscholastic athletics. An announcement seeking candidates from the Wyoming Valley Conference will be posted to the District II website in February. The committee will act to select a successor at the conclusion of the posting of the vacancy.

ITEM 5 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 19th at the WBACTC 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 Gegaris, to approve the format as submitted. All Ayes. The format will be distributed to member schools and placed on the webpage.

·         Football (Mike Ognosky): Pat Patte, District II Treasurer, distributed the financial report from the 2016 Football Championships in District II that included $141,757 in receipts; $39,730 in expenses; and, $43,894 distributed back to participating District II schools. A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to accept the report as presented. All Ayes. There was also a discussion regarding school bands playing while the quarterback is calling signals at the line of scrimmage and the proposal to add one regular season contest at the conclusion of the season for those teams not qualifying for post-season play. Both these items will be discussed by the PIAA Board of Directors at its January meeting.

·         Competitive Cheer (Chris Gegaris): Mr Gegaris discussed the upcoming state championships in this sport and wished District II schools success for the upcoming weekend competition at GIANT Center.

·         Field Hockey (Chris Gegaris): Chris discussed the possibility of the State Field Hockey Championships moving to a Wednesday-Saturday format rather than the current Tuesday-Saturday format for the semifinals and finals. He also discussed an incident involving the disqualification of a coach during the Merion Mercy-Donegal AA State Championship game this past season. The PIAA is currently reviewing these issues and the committee will be updated on the results.

·         Swimming & Diving: (Fred Barletta): Fred Barletta distributed the upcoming 2017 District II Swimming and Diving Championships and noted that a meeting of the District II Swimming & Diving Steering Committee has been established for January 26th at the Wilkes-Barre CYC.

·         Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Pat Patte & Jay Starnes reported on the District II Team Dual Wrestling Championships scheduled for early February. A steering committee meeting for the sport was scheduled for January 31st at Hanover Area High School.

·         Lacrosse (Mark Rinaldi): Mr. Majikes announced that committee representatives will meet on January 30th with Wyoming Valley Conference athletic representatives and officials from the Lacrosse Officials’ Chapter to discuss concerns regarding the assignment/compensation of officials to WVC league contests.

·         Cross Country (Bill King): Bill is in attendance at the PIAA State Cross Country Steering Committee today and will report items of interest to the District II Committee at the next meeting.

·         Volleyball (Maureen Williams): Maureen reported on the State Volleyball Championships and the steering committee’s desire to move the girls’ championships to a college venue. Maureen also discussed a concern raised by the state steering committee regarding the assignment of officials to state contests. PIAA is addressing the matter.

·         Officials (Bill Schoen & Maureen Williams): The annual pre-playoff rules meeting of District II Basketball Officials will be held at the Wilkes-Barre CTC on Sunday, February 9th at 10:30 a.m.

·         Awards (Bill Schoen): Bill updated committee members on the status of the awards/medals contract with Honor Awards of Taylor and noted that all schools and the district are pleased with the service being provided. He did note that medals were of different composite than in years past but has been satisfied with the responsiveness and service delivery of Honor Awards staff and the quality of the product.

·         Athletic Directors (Mark Rinaldi & Fred Barletta): Ron Collins and Mark Rinaldi reported on comments from the Lackawanna Athletic Directors regarding the upcoming basketball championships and the methodology used for selecting officials. Mr. Majikes noted that the approved system, as ratified during the April, 2016 District II Annual Business Meeting, has worked effectively during the fall district sports’ championships and it will be followed in succeeding championships during the next two year cycle. You can find that process outlined in Item 6 of the Annual Business Meeting Minutes found on the District II webpage under “Meeting Minutes” on the homepage. Mr. Collins will also bring up this matter at the next LIAA meeting.

ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes distributed a communication from the Mohegan Sun Arena regarding the potential for event sponsorships and game program advertisement for the upcoming District II Basketball Championships to be held at that venue. Members were requested to distribute the sponsorship information to all interested parties.

ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes reported on PIAA Board of Directors matters including a dues increase for member schools; an update on student-athlete eligibility and updates on disqualification reports and corrective action that must be implemented by schools. A summary of the latest PIAA Board of Directors meeting can be found on the District II webpage.

ITEM 9 Chairman Majikes also discussed a delinquent broadcast invoice due from Fox 56 to District II and directed the solicitor to follow up with station staff to address the matter.

ITEM 10 The Committee acted upon the following eligibility requests in accordance with Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting, Principal to Principal Sign off, of the PIAA by-laws:

·         A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the immediate eligibility of Taylor Demich, Pittston Area to Wyoming Area, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes

·         A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Mark Rinaldi, to approve the immediate eligibility of Valerie Doboshak, Redbird Christian to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes

·         A motion was made by BenTolerico, seconded by Bill Schoen, to approve the immediate eligibility of Diavian Tooley, Meyers to Coughlin, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes

ITEM 11 Joe Farrell inquired regarding schools awarding varsity letters for students who participate in marching band. Several members responded that their schools do award letters to students who participate in band activities.

ITEM 12 A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Bill Schoen, to provide a memorial contribution to St. Joseph’s Center in memory of Mrs. Suzanne Pusateri, long time Scranton School District educator and wife of former District II Committee member, Joseph Pusateri, who passed away in January.

ITEM 13 Chairman Majikes provided the committee members present with reports from Carbondale Area and Holy Redeemer High Schools regarding a post season incident during a basketball tournament contest last season during the District II Girls’ Championships.

ITEM 14 Mr. Majikes also updated committee members on reports received from Hazleton Area and Pittston Area High Schools regarding a post-season All Star Contest in the sport of softball that put in jeopardy the eligibility of a student-athlete who mistakenly participated in the contest.

ITEM 15 Mr. Majikes announced that the annual District II Business Meeting will be held on April 26, 2017 beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Arcaro and Genell’s Banquet Facility in Old Forge.

ITEM 16 A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Fred Barletta, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes

Meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Ognosky

Mike Ognosky

District II Secretary/Web Master