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: Fred Barletta, John Coyle, Brian Durkin, Pat Patte, Ben Tolerico, and Chad Vinansky.
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded Chris Gegaris, to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2017 meeting. All Ayes. Approved minutes will be posted to the District II webpage.
ITEM 3 Chairman Majikes presented the Treasurer’s Report in Pat Patte’s absence. As of January 1, 2018 the total fund balance was $278,322.73. This includes $198,793.53 in the checking account; $66,789.06 in the Money Market account; and, $12,740.14 in our Certificate of Deposit. A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Tim Hopkins, to approve the report as presented. All Ayes
ITEM 4 SPORTS REPORTS: The District II Committee received reports on the following:
· Baseball (Frank Majikes): Chairman Majikes announced that following discussions all 6 Baseball finals will be played at PNC Field.
· Basketball (Frank Majikes): Chairman Majikes announced that all is set for the 2018 District II Basketball Championships at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday, March 1st through Saturday, March 3rd.
· Competitive Spirit (Chris Gegaris): Chris announced that our 4 qualifying teams – Hazleton Area, Berwick, Wallenpaupack, and Crestwood – will be competing this upcoming weekend in Hershey at the 2018 PIAA Competitive Spirit State Championships. Good luck to all the teams!
· Cross Country (Bill King): Bill updated the committee on the discussions held at the most recent State Cross Country Steering Committee Meeting. Leading the discussion was the method of determining team qualifiers to the state tournament and how to make it more accurately reflect the number of complete teams sponsored by a district. He will keep the committee updated on the progress of those discussions.
· Football (Mike Ognosky): Mike updated the committee on the discussions held at the Football Steering Committee meeting. A major topic discussed was the proposal to relax the freshmen eligibility rule as football teams are having a more difficult time in fielding junior varsity teams for competition. A number of alternatives were discussed but there were no recommendations made to the State Board for action.
· Field Hockey (Chris Gegaris): Chris shared with the committee the proposed structure and schedule for the next two year cycle in Field Hockey in the WVC. The proposal calls for two divisions – Division 1 made up of 14 teams from AAA, AA and A classifications playing each other once for 13 league games; and, Division 2 made up of the remainder of the A teams (8) playing each other twice for 14 league games.
· Golf (Joe Farrell): Joe asked the committee for feedback regarding the future sites for the Team & Individual Golf Championships.
· Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Jay Starnes reported on the District II Team Dual Wrestling Championships scheduled for January 31st through February 3rd. He also reported that all is set for the 2018 Individual Championships to be hosted at the Kingston Armory.
· Awards (Bill Schoen): Bill informed the Winter Sports’ Chairpersons that their medals and plaques are available for delivery.
ITEM 5 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 Mary Ruth Tanner, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the immediate eligibility of Dean Ambosie, Holy Redeemer to Crestwood, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Joe Farrell, to approve the immediate eligibility of Alexander Anatasi, Old Forge to Pittston Area, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Mary Ruth Tanner, seconded by Tim Hopkins, to approve the immediate eligibility of Ava Baur, Wyoming Seminary to Scranton Prep, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes
· A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Dave Novrocki, to approve the immediate eligibility of Ari Lonstem, Ellenville (NY) to Wyoming Seminary, in accordance with Article VI, Principal to Principal sign off, of the PIAA by-laws. All Ayes
ITEM 6 Chairman Majikes distributed a flyer to the committee members present announcing the Inaugural Mark Rinaldi Memorial Golf Tournament to be held at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Course on Sunday, June 10th at 1:30 p.m. Information will be disseminated to member schools in District II.
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes announced that the District II Annual Business Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 18th at Arcaro & Genel’s in Old Forge at 9 a.m. Information will be provided to the schools as the date approaches.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes advised the committee of a concern regarding the 2017 District II Track and Field AA Championship results as posted on the webpage. Updated information has been received from the Track Committee revising the results in 2 events. That information will be posted to the webpage and the results will be updated.
ITEM 9 A discussion was held regarding the expansion of the power rating system beyond its current utilization in basketball. Chairman Majikes has scheduled an informational meeting for all schools on Wednesday, February 7th at PNC Field at which time that topic will be discussed. Information will be provided to the schools shortly.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes provided the committee members present with information from the Mohegan Sun regarding the purchasing of event sponsorships and game program advertisements for local companies and businesses. Chairman Majikes asked that members disseminate that information to prospective businesses for interest.
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes led a discussion regarding the entering into Cooperative Agreements by member schools for the next two year cycle, 2018-19 and 2019-2020. At this point in the process, only those agreements that do not change the classification of a member school’s status in that sport will be considered for approval. If by moving into a cooperative agreement requires a change in classification it will not be considered until the next two year cycle.
ITEM 11 The meeting was moved to Executive Session at 5:33 p.m. in order to discuss situations brought to the committee’s attention regarding member schools.
ITEM 12 Following executive session, the committee reconvened at 6:23 p.m.
ITEM 13 A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Ron Collins, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 6:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary/Web Master