Meeting was convened at 4:30 p.m. by Chairman Majikes
ITEM 1 Chairman Majikes called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
Absent but accounted for: Ross Scarantino, Don Rogers, Phil Cappellini, Jim Higgins
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Tony Rusnak, seconded by Danielle DiPietro, to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2007 meeting. All Ayes
ITEM 3 Frank Victor presented the treasurer’s report. As of March 20, 2007 District II has a total fund balance of $149,998.11. $66,000.94 is located in Certificates of Deposit while $83,997.17 is located in savings and checking accounts. This does not include the final financial accounting of the recently concluded winter championship seasons.
A motion was made by Mike Costanza, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the treasurer’s report as presented. All Ayes
ITEM 4 Chairman Majikes distributed a copy of the 2007 PIAA District Business Meetings. The District II Business Meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 18th at 4 p.m. at the Pittston Convention Center. It will be followed by a brief reception and the Annual Awards Banquet.
ITEM 5 Chairman Majikes distributed copies of a February 8, 2007 letter sent by a
student at a District II member school regarding the passage of the first
reading of proposed eligibility rules changes. He also distributed a
response to that letter by Brad Cashman, Executive Director of the PIAA
dated February 22, 2007.
ITEM 6 Chairman Majikes presented a letter discussing the “USA National Wrestling Junior Folkstyle Championships” and the potential affect participation in those championships could have on a student-athlete’s future eligibility. PIAA Executive Director Brad Cashman reviewed the material presented and, in a written response, states that it appears that participation in this tournament would not qualify as an All-Star participation and would not endanger future eligibility for student-athletes in a PIAA member school. Those championships are scheduled for March 30th through April 1st in the UNI-Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa University in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
ITEM 7Chairman Majikes reviewed the following soccer rules changes presented by the National Federation of State High School Associations. A link to those changes is available at www.nfhs.org. Among the changes, which will begin with the 2007-08 season are:
· A player entering a game improperly equipped, and it is discovered by an official, will result in a yellow card to the coach.
· Shin guards must meet the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment standard effective with the 2008-09 season rather than the 2007-08 season.
· An exception has been approved for the 2007-08 season which allows team benches to be placed on opposite sides of the field. When teams are placed on opposite sides of the field the benches must by placed diagonally across from each other.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes reviewed a change in the football rules for 2007-08 regarding the topic of ‘helmet contact’. Examples of illegal helmet contact that could result in the disqualification of a player include, but are not limited to: (1) illegal helmet contact against an opponent lying on the ground; (2) illegal helmet contact against an opponent being held up by other players, and; (3) illegal helmet-to-helmet contact against a defenseless opponent.
ITEM 9 District II Football Chairperson, Tom Jenkins, reviewed correspondence received regarding the tradition of Thanksgiving football games. Tom clarified the issue by explaining that member schools can play on Thanksgiving Day. In correspondence from Brad Cashman, PIAA Executive Director, “there is currently no prohibition on PIAA- member schools participating in football on Thanksgiving Day. Indeed, there are a number of member senior high schools that have continued to play traditional rivals on Thanksgiving. Since the decision to play Thanksgiving Day football contests are at the discretion of the involved PIAA-member schools, I do not believe any further action from PIAA is necessary.”
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes presented a letter received from Mary Jo Gunning, Directors of Athletics and Recreation at Marywood University, thanking the District II Committee for their consideration of Marywood as a potential District II site for District basketball competition.
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes presented a letter received from Joseph Casciano, Superintendent of Schools for the Scranton Dioceses, informing the District II Committee that the following schools will withdraw membership from the PIAA as of June 30, 2007: Bishop Hannan High School, Bishop Hannan Junior High School, Bishop O’Hara High School, Bishop O’Hara Junior High School, Seton Catholic High School, Seton Catholic Junior High School, Bishop O’Reilly High School, Bishop O’Reilly Junior High School, Bishop Hoban High School, Bishop Hoban Junior High School, Bishop Hafey High School, Bishop Hafey Junior High School.
Additionally, Mr. Casciano indicated he will be requesting membership for the following schools effective July 1, 2007: Holy Redeemer High School, Holy Redeemer Junior High School, Holy Cross High School, Holy Cross Junior High School.
ITEM 12 Congratulations to Jim Higgins, Athletic Director at Bishop Hoban High School on his selection as the 2007 Pennsylvania Region 2 Athletic Director of the Year.
ITEM 13 Chairman Majikes presented the committee with another draft of the proposed amendments to Article VI, Transfers, Residence, and Recruiting of the PIAA By-Laws, as (1) agreed to “in principle” by the Transfer Rule Ad Hoc Committee at its meeting of Friday, February 9, 2007; (2) reviewed and modified by Alan R. Boynton, Esq., PIAA Legal Counsel, and Michael J. Manzo, Esq., PIAA District VII/WPIAL Legal Counsel; and (3) further reviewed and edited by a member of the Transfer Ad Hoc Committee, as recently as Friday, March 9, 2007. A second reading of those eligibility changes will be conducted at the next meeting of the PIAA State Committee to be held in State Collegeon March 22nd and 23rd.
ITEM 14 A motion was made by Ray Lowery, seconded by Frank Galicki, to approve the eligibility of Kenta Kono, Japan to Abington Heights, in accordance with Article VI, Section 8, Foreign Exchange Students, of the PIAA By-Laws. All Ayes
ITEM 15 SPORTS REPORTS:
a.) Baseball (Frank Galicki): The baseball committee will be meeting in the near future with the softball committee in planning the upcoming baseball and softball spring championships.
b.) Basketball (Frank Victor): Frank thanked all member schools who hosted recent games in the District playoffs. The cooperation of member schools was outstanding.
c.) Golf (Tony Rusnak): Tony outlined potential changes in the District Golf Championships and presented details to the committee. Following his presentation, a motion was made by Ray Lowery, seconded by Bill King, to approve the following: District Varsity Championships will be held at Scranton Municipal Golf Course and the top 15 boys’ finishers (and ties) will play an additional 9 holes to determine the 12 state qualifiers; the top 9 girls’ finishers (and ties) will play an additional 9 holes to determine the 6 state qualifiers; and the approval of a girls’ team championships format to be determined. All Ayes
d.) Soccer (Ray Lowery): Ray presented the girls’ spring soccer championship format. A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Frank Galicki, to approve the format as presented. All Ayes
e.) Softball (Dino Galella): The softball committee will be meeting in the near future with the baseball committee in planning the upcoming baseball and softball spring championships.
f.) Boys’ Tennis (Joe Lalli): Things are progressing nicely in the planning of the boys’ tennis championships. Wilkes and Kirby Park are set as locations.
g.) Track (Danielle DiPietro): Danielle asked that member schools please respond to the recent question that was distributed to Athletic Directors regarding the placement of the 300 meter hurdles in the district championships. If you haven’t done so already, please do so ASAP. The Varsity Championships will be held on May 15th (AAA) and May 17th (AA) at Scranton High School. The Junior High Championships will be at Hanover Area on May 12th.
h.) Volleyball (Maureen Williams): The format for the boys’ championships will be announced shortly.
ITEM 16 At this point in the meeting, 5:45 P.M., the District II Committee went into a closed session to review and deliberate the February 6, 2007 incident at the GAR-Wyoming Area Boys’ Varsity Basketball game played at Wyoming Area. Three members of the Committee (Frank Majikes, Dino Galella and Maureen Williams) were excused from the proceedings due to school affiliations (Tom Jenkins also was not in attendance). The remaining members of the District II Committee then reviewed the film that was made available as well as the written explanations supplied by the administration of both schools.
At 6:25 P.M. the District II Committee returned from the closed session and a motion was made by Mike Ognosky, seconded by Tom Finan, to suspend a member of the GAR Boys’ Varsity Basketball team for the first two boys’ basketball scheduled contest dates (both Junior Varsity and Varsity levels) of the 2007-2008 school year for which he is eligible regardless of level of play. Furthermore, both the Wyoming Area and Wilkes-Barre GAR interscholastic athletic programs are placed on a one year probation, effective immediately, with the understanding that any further incidents of this nature will be brought back before the District II Committee for their review and the possibility of further action by the Committee. All Ayes
ITEM 17 A motion was made by Joe Lalli, seconded by Maureen Williams, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.