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: Joe Farrell, Al Holtzer, Chris Jones, Bill King, Vito Quaglia, Pat Sheehan, Jay Starnes, and Chad Vinansky
Visitors present included Don Rogers (District II Solicitor) and Jim Sabatini (former District II Committee member).
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Frank Galicki, seconded Pat Patte, to approve the minutes of the December 17, 2013 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 $213,626.22 as compared to a starting fund balance for the year of $182,926.56. Included in the fund balance are total certificates of deposit of $12,563.33 and total savings and checking account balances of $201,062.89.
Following the presentation of the treasurer’s report, a motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Eric Emmerich, 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 distributed the format for the upcoming District II Boys and Girls Basketball Tournaments and reviewed the contents with the committee. He reminded the group that this was the second year in the current two year cycle and the format will be only slightly changed from the 2013 Championships. Following a request for consideration by two of the A schools in the tournament, the A semifinal will be played on either Friday, February 21st (Boys) or Saturday, February 22nd (Girls) with the finals then being played on the following Friday, February 28th (boys) or Saturday, March 1st (Girls). He emphasized that there will be a meeting for the Principals and Athletic Directors of all member schools on Monday, February 17, 2014 in order to review the format and brackets for this year’s tournament. The time and location of that meeting will be announced shortly. Following the presentation, a motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Danielle Adams, to approve the format as presented. All Ayes. The format will be e-mailed to Athletic Directors and placed on the District II website on Wednesday, January 22nd.
· Competitive Cheer (Chris Gegaris): Chris Gegaris reviewed the results of the recently completed District II Competitive Cheer Championships and commented that 5 District II schools (Crestwood, Hazleton Area, Delaware Valley, Pittston Area, and North Pocono) will be competing at the State Championships in Hershey this Friday, January 24th. Results can be found on the District II webpage on the Competitive Cheer page.
· Swimming and Diving (Jim Higgins): Jim Higgins distributed and reviewed the information for the 2014 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 on Wednesday, January 22nd.
· Field Hockey: Chris Gegaris informed the committee that there will be a meeting of Athletic Directors on February 6th to begin discussion of the 2014 and 2015 District II Field Hockey Championship format. He will get more information to the committee as the discussions continue.
· Track and Field: Danielle Adams informed the committee that there will be a meeting of the Track and Field Committee within the next few weeks in order to finalize plans for the 2014 District II Track and Field Championships. She will update the committee following that meeting.
· Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Chairman Majikes informed the committee that here will be a press conference on Thursday, January 23, 2014 at the Kingston Armory to announce the plans for this year’s District II Wrestling Championships. Both the team and individual championships will be held at the Armory. He invited all committee members to attend the 4 p.m. press conference. The information for the 2014 Wrestling Championships has already been distributed to member schools.
· Awards: Bill Schoen informed the committee that the plaques and medals for the Winter Championships will be available to the various sports’ chairpersons for distribution at the championships.
· Public Relations and Corporate Sponsors: Bill Schoen informed the committee members that discussions with Geisinger Health Systems for a potential corporate sponsorship are ongoing. Frank Galicki suggested that the District review the potential for EIC arrangements with potential corporate sponsors. Chairman Majikes will work with the District Solicitor regarding that potential and report back to the committee.
· Sportsmanship: Frank Galicki reported that there has been a noted increase in the number of basketball incidents resulting in player and coach ejections. Chairman Majikes has discussed specific incidents with member schools and is awaiting reports from the respective principals regarding those incidents.
ITEM 5 A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the eligibility of Violette Hiegel, France to Crestwood, in accordance with Article VII, Foreign Exchange Students, effective for the 2013-2014 school year. All Ayes
ITEM 6 Chairman Majikes distributed information to the committee members present regarding recent discussions at the PIAA State level regarding boys and girls to participate together on various sports’ teams at their schools. The Packel Case, which began in 1973 when the Attorney General sued PIAA on behalf of a girl who wanted to participate in boys’ sports, eventually arrived in Commonwealth Court in 1975 and the PIAA was directed to allow boys and girls to participate together. In 2013 the case was reopened and in August 2013, the Court narrowed the scope of the 1975 injunction to make clear that the court only intended to bar PIAA from interfering with girls seeking to play boys’ sports. If PIAA chooses to restrict boys from playing girls’ sports, the 1975 injunction is not a bar in doing so. The PIAA has started the three reading protocol to develop a by-law to address this issue. The proposed approach utilized a 3 prong test to be determined by the administration of each member school. The 3 points are: (1) if a school has a Team in a student’s gender, the student must play on that team; (2) If a school does not have a girls’ team in a sport, such as football or wrestling, girls may play on the school’s boys’ team; (3) Boys may play on a girls’ team if three criteria are met: (a) the student’s school does not sponsor a boys’ team in that sport: (b) the Principal determines that the overall boys’ athletic program at the student’s school provides fewer opportunities for boys to participate than for girls; (c) the Principal determines that the boy would not displace any girl on the Team and would not provide his Team with an unfair competitive advantage. If any school administrator has any comments or suggestions please contact the District II Chairman, Frank Majikes.
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes informed the committee that at the next PIAA State meeting he will receive an update on the various state qualifiers for the next two year cycle. That update will reflect those schools that have opted to participate at a higher classification during that cycle.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes polled the committee members present regarding their availability to participate in a potential eligibility hearing this Thursday following the wrestling press conference at the Kingston Armory. He will get back to committee members with details should a hearing be scheduled.
ITEM 9 Committee members discussed the potential for the District to purchase tents to be utilized at various District Championships. Following discussion, the committee agreed to continue the current practice of renting tents when it was necessary, rather than purchase our own at this time.
ITEM 10 A discussion was held regarding the March Conference at the University of Scranton. The committee agreed that no additional funds should be made available for the conference and that it be limited to the scheduling of the student seminar that has proven to be so popular in the last few years. Chairman Majikes will make the necessary communications on this matter.
ITEM 11 Following a discussion of the current two year cooperative agreement in Junior High wrestling between Mid Valley and Scranton, Chairman Majikes reminded committee members that cooperative agreements are for a two year cycle at a minimum.
ITEM 12 A motion was made by Frank Galicki, seconded by Chris Thomas, to direct the Chairman to respond to the most recent request by FOX 56 regarding the potential broadcasting of winter sports’ championships. The Chairman was directed to inform FOX 56 that our current fee schedule will not be altered. All Ayes
ITEM 13 A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Frank Galicki, to instruct the Chairman to put together a group tasked with developing a Professional Development Plan to serve the needs of the school districts and their personnel in District II in regard to various matters dealing with athletics. All Ayes
ITEM 14 A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Fred Barletta, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary