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 Adams, Eric Emmerich, Mike Ognosky, Vito Quaglia, and Chad Vinansky
The Committee observed a moment of silence for Bob Spagna and Jim Davis, two former District II Committee members who recently passed. Mr. Spagna was a long time Officials’ Representative and Track and Field Chairperson, and Mr. Davis served as the District II Chairman during his tenure with the committee.
Chairman Majikes also informed the committee that we had two officiating crews who worked in the recently conducted PIAA State Basketball Championships. Tim Lavelle, Kim Ruether and Tony Blaisure worked the AA Girls’ Championship and Jim Gross, Gerald Byron, and Joe DiMaggio worked the AA Boys’ Championship.
Chairman Majikes also informed the committee that two District II Basketball Officials also worked deep in the recently conducted NCAA Basketball Championships. John Leighton worked the NCAA Division 2 Men’s Atlantic Regional Championship game in Springfield, Massachusetts and Mike Ognosky worked the NCAA Division 3 Women’s National Championship game in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Pat Sheehan, to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2015 meeting. All Ayes.
Due to scheduling conflicts and District playoff dates the PIAA District II Committee did not meet in February, 2015.
ITEM 3 Frank Victor presented the Treasurer’s Report as of February 17, 2015. As of that date the total fund balance was $230,084.87 as compared to a starting fund balance on July 1, 2014 of $217,951.12. The balance includes $66,550.61 in a Savings Account and $150,923.40 in a Checking Account. Frank Victor also distributed travel forms to the members present and asked that they be returned in time for processing at the Annual Business Meeting in April.
Following discussion, a motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as given. All Ayes
ITEM 4 SPORTS REPORTS:
· Baseball (Frank Majikes): Hopefully, with improved weather the baseball season will begin on time and teams will be able to maintain the league schedules as is. Chairman Majikes said there is currently no plan to move the dates for District Baseball.
· Basketball (Frank Majikes): With the recent conclusion of the PIAA State Championships, Chairman Majikes thanked all who assisted with the District Basketball Championships. A special thanks to all of the schools that served as hosts for this year’s Boys’ and Girls’ tournaments.
· Cross Country (Bill King): Plans are already underway to schedule next year’s championships at the Elk Lake venue that has been utilized in the recent years.
· Football (Mike Ognosky): In Mike’s absence, Chairman Majikes provided an overview of the recent State Football Steering Committee meeting and the discussions of potentially moving to 6 classifications in Football. He will continue to provide updated information as the discussions move forward.
· Swimming (Fred Barletta): Fred thanked all those that assisted in the 2015 District II Swimming and Diving Championships.
· Boys Tennis (Bill Schoen): Bill reported that the dates have been established for the 2015 Boys’ Tennis Championships. The Team Championships will be held on Tuesday, May 5th; Singles on May 7th and 8th, and Doubles on May 13th and 14th. All of the championships are scheduled for Kirby Park and Wilkes University.
· Track and Field (Danielle Adams): In Danielle’s absence, Chairman Majikes reviewed a number of items regarding the upcoming Track and Field Championships. The rental fee for Scranton High School has been maintained at $1,000/day, which includes overtime for their employees as well as meals for the various workers. The Meet Manager program has been updated to compatible with the current operating systems. The cost for the update is $189 and must be completed prior to the meet schedule. There is also a price adjustment necessary for using WilTime. The cost adjustment is for providing for a camera finish as opposed to the utilization of back up timers at the finish line – a cost of $200 for both both days. A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve the proposed cost adjustments. All Ayes
ITEM 5: A lengthy discussion was held regarding the process utilized by the committee in reviewing transfer requests. The Committee feels strongly that additional scrutiny should take place on principal to principal transfers, which may result in more hearings in the future. A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Frank Galicki, to have an agenda item at the Annual Business Meeting in order to inform member schools of this change. All Ayes
ITEM 6 The following motions were made and acted upon by the District II Committee regarding student eligibility requests:
· A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Pat Patte, granting immediate eligibility to Dawson Clark, Fairview HS to Western Wayne, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Bill King, to table the motion for immediate eligibility to Tori Diffendorf, Susquehanna Valley to Tunkhannock, as the committee had further questions for clarification prior to acting. Chairman Majikes will address those clarifications with the member schools and report back to the committee at the next meeting. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Bill Schoen, to table the motion for immediate eligibility for Jordan Ellsworth, Troy HS to Wyoming Valley West, as the committee had further questions for clarification prior to acting. Chairman Majikes will address those clarifications with the member schools and report back to the committee at the next meeting. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Maureen Williams, to table the motion for immediate eligibility for Chandler Fuller, West Scranton to Valley View, as the committee had further questions for clarification prior to acting. Chairman Majikes will address those clarifications with the member schools and report back to the committee at the next meeting. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to table the motion for immediate eligibility for Rishad Stanton, West Scranton to Riverside, as the committee had further questions for clarification prior to acting. Chairman Majikes will address those clarifications with the member schools and report back to the committee at the next meeting. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Bill Schoen, granting immediate eligibility to Lester Stapleton, Meyers to Wallenpaupack, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Joe Farrell, seconded by Pat Sheehan, granting immediate eligibility to Michael Williams, Wyoming Valley West to Crestwood, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Fred Barletta, granting immediate eligibility to Eric Macarski, Mid Valley to Holy Cross, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Chris Thomas, granting immediate eligibility to Maggie Dow, Crestwood to Northwest Area, in accordance with Article VI, Transfer Waiver, Section 4, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes informed the Committee that he is continuing to communicate with two member schools, Wyoming Valley West and Lake-Lehman, in attempting to establish a hearing date regarding a potential eligibility transfer question.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes updated the District II Committee on the status of the use of the Arena for the 2016 Basketball Championships.
ITEM 9Bill Schoen presented to the committee an outline for a potential District II Sports Network as requested by Attinick Media LLC, Chris Kucharski, President. The Sports Network would promote student-athletes, teams and coaches; provide coverage and information for parents and fans, and provide live broadcasts and feature district news, and team and school information. The District II Committee reviewed the information as presented and agreed to continue discussion at upcoming meetings.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes presented a communication from Scot Gower, Athletic Director of Scranton Prep, requesting consideration for a modification of the open tournament format in various sports, limiting participation to those schools with at least a .350 winning percentage in league competition. Chairman Majikes will place this request on the Annual Business Meeting Agenda for discussion.
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes reviewed the agenda of the March 19, 2015 PIAA Board of Directors Meeting. Complete minutes of that meeting can be found on the District II website at www.piaad2.org.
ITEM 12 Per a request from the Athletic Directors in District II, Chairman Majikes reviewed the scrimmage regulations as established by PIAA:
· The involved schools shall agree, in advance of the Athletic Event, that the Athletic Event will be a Scrimmage rather than an Inter-School Practice or a Contest;
· No admission shall be charged;
· The head coaches of the involved teams may stop the activity at any time to provide instruction or to make substitutions;
· There shall be no restrictions concerning the number of times a player/contestant enters or leaves the scrimmage;
· No score may be displayed or recorded;
· The results of the scrimmage shall not be counted as a part of the involved teams’ season win and loss records.
· Scrimmages may take place any time after the first legal scrimmage date up to the conclusion of the regular season. Schools are limited to two scrimmages or interschool practices, in total, at each level of competition. Post-season is separate for the purpose of this discussion.
· Each team, at all levels of competition, is limited to one inter-school practice or scrimmage per day and the time of the scrimmage may not exceed two hours and thirty minutes.
ITEM 13 Chairman Majikes presented committee members with an article from High School Today magazine entitled “The Challenges of School Reclassification for a State High School Association”.
ITEM 14 A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Maureen Williams, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 6: 40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary