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: Joseph Farrell, Vito Quaglia, Mark Rinaldi, and Jay Starnes
Guests included Matt Bufano, Citizens-Voice.
The Committee observed a moment of silence for Tom Jenkins, former District II Committee member who recently passed. Mr. Jenkins was a long time Football Chairperson for District II.
Chairman Majikes also informed the committee that District II Committee member Mike Ognosky officiated in the NCAA Division 2 Women’s National Quarterfinal round in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Chairman Majikes also informed the committee that Fred Barletta, the District II Athletic Director’s Representative from the Wyoming Valley Conference, was recently named the Pennsylvania Region II Athletic Director of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Director’s Association. Region II encompasses the PIAA Districts of II, IV, and XI. Congratulations Fred!
ITEM 2 At 4:30 p.m., Chairman Majikes began an eligibility hearing regarding the transfer of Reed Karaska from Holy Redeemer to Crestwood. Chairman Majikes read an introductory statement and, at that point, the hearing was closed at the request of the schools involved and all non-District II personnel were asked to leave the hearing.
At 5:25 p.m., following deliberations, the District II Committee meeting was reopened to the public. A motion was made by Eric Emmerich, seconded by Ron Collins, to declare Reed Karaska ineligible in the sport of Lacrosse at Crestwood for the 2015-2016 year. Reed is eligible for all other sports in 2015-2016 and will be eligible in all sports in 2016-2017. All Ayes
ITEM 3 A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Bill King, to approve the minutes of the February 15, 2016 meeting. All Ayes.
ITEM 4 There was no Treasurer’s Report at today’s meeting. The next bank statement is not due until March 29, 2016 and the next treasurer’s report will be given at the April 12, 2016 meeting. The final financial report of the basketball playoffs will also be presented at the next meeting. Frank Victor indicated that the annual signature card for the officers was required by our financial institution. A motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the following officers as signatures’ on the account:
Chairman Frank Majikes
Vice Chairman William King
Secretary Mike Ognosky
Treasurer Pat Patte
Financial Advisor Frank Victor
The motion was approved. All Ayes.
ITEM 5 SPORTS REPORTS:
· Baseball (Frank Majikes): Chairman Majikes announced that representatives from PNC Field will be attending the upcoming Lackawanna League and Wyoming Valley Conference meetings in order to discuss the potential of honoring various league champions at Rail Rider games throughout the upcoming season.
· Competitive Spirit (Chris Gegaris): Chris attended the most recent Competitive Spirit PIAA workshop and informed the Committee that the small and medium divisions of the Competitive Spirit divisions will be split into 2 divisions for next year. This will provide for six classifications in Competitive Spirit – 2 small, 2 medium, 1 large and 1 co-ed.
· Cross Country (Bill King): Bill explained the District II Cross Country Committee is looking at alternative sites for the next two year cycle. Hopefully, he will have a decision for the committee for the next meeting. A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to direct the District II Cross Country Committee to visit and examine the feasibility of locating the District II Cross Country meet at Lakeland High School for the next two year cycle. If it is feasible to conduct the championships at that site, the District II Cross Country Committee would then ask Lakeland to host the championships for the next two year cycle. All Ayes
· Field Hockey (Chris Gegaris): Chris thanked Chairman Majikes for his efforts in arranging a meeting of all of the PIAA Districts that will be combining with District II in subregionals for the next two year cycle. This will involve a number of districts in a number of sports. That meeting will be conducted this spring and well in advance of the 2016 Fall Championships.
· Football (Mike Ognosky): Mike reported that there is an issue with the current PIAA Rawlings’ ball and that information will be provided to District II Athletic Directors regarding a replacement ball as soon as it is available. PIAA State Office is hoping to have that information by the District II Annual Business Meeting.
· Swimming (Fred Barletta): Fred thanked all those that assisted in the 2016 District II Swimming and Diving Championships.
· Boys Tennis (Bill Schoen): The format for the 2016 Boys’ Tennis Championships to be held in May was provided. Following discussion, a motion was made by Bill Schoen, seconded by Maureen Williams, to approve the format for distribution to the member schools and placement on the website. All Ayes
· Track and Field (Danielle Adams): Danielle announced the dates for the 2016 Track and Field Championships to be held at Scranton Memorial Stadium. The AA meet is scheduled for Monday, May 16th and the AAA meet is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th. Rain dates will be Wednesday, May 18th for the AA meet and Thursday, May 19th for the AAA meet. Danielle also provided a copy of the District II Qualifying Standards for this year and asked that they be distributed to member schools and placed on the website.
· Volleyball (Maureen Williams): Maureen presented the format for the Spring Boys’ Volleyball Championships. Following review and discussion, a motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Ron Collins, to approve the format for distribution to member schools and placement on the website. All Ayes
· Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Chairman Majikes presented a letter to the District II Wrestling Committee regarding a recommendation for changes in the team seeding process. Pat Patte, in Jay’s absence, said that he would take that suggestion to the Wrestling Committee for consideration.
· Athletic Directors (Fred Barletta & Mark Rinaldi): Fred Barletta explained that the Wyoming Valley Conference and Lackawanna Leagues will both be examining the current structure of the District II Basketball Championships and are planning to make recommendations to the District II Basketball Committee regarding both the Open Tournament and the utilization of a weighted system for seeding purposes.
ITEM 6 The following motions were made and acted upon by the District II Committee regarding student eligibility requests:
· A motion was made by Bill King, seconded by John Coyle, granting immediate eligibility to Kevin Dessoye, Holy Redeemer to Meyers, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Danielle Adams, granting immediate eligibility to Saige George, Mt. View to Crestwood, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
· A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Chris Thomas, granting immediate eligibility to Courtney June, Holy Cross to Pittston Area, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, Athletic Transfer Waiver, Principal to Principal sign off. All Ayes.
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes reviewed the agenda of the most recent PIAA State Board of Directors meeting held in Hershey on Thursday, March 17, 2016. The minutes of that meeting can be found on the PIAA District II website under “PIAA State Office Weekly Newsletter & Information”. Items specifically noted by Chairman Majikes included the following:
· The imposition of a one game suspension on a student who violated Article XVI, Season and Out of Season, of the PIAA By-Laws.
· Cablecasting/Telecasting and/or webcasting (video streaming) of up to ninety (90) seconds of video transmission of any PIAA Inter-District Championship Contest for use as part of a local sportscast shall be permitted without charge. Use of production programs, such as Periscope, to video stream Inter-District Contests without prior written permission from PIAA is prohibited.
· On a second reading, approved entering into Article XVI, Table 1, Schedule for All Sports, of the PIAA By-Laws that the first date for Football will be referred to as Week “0”. This date is the corresponding date to the 2nd scrimmage date or optional for a 1st play date in Football.
· On a second reading, approved the proposed number of entries (qualifiers) by District, or by Region, and Brackets (pairings) for the next two year cycle (2016-17 and 2017-18) for all Fall, Winter, and Spring PIAA Championships, as amended.
· On a third and final reading basis, accepted the Volleyball Steering Committee’s recommendation to permit PIAA member schools to use NFHS Approved scoring devices as their official scoring system for PIAA Regular Season Contests and PIAA Postseason Contests, effective July 1, 2016.
· On a second reading, approved the recommendation of the Chief Operating Officer to accept the recommendation of the PIAA Golf Steering Committee to eliminate the “one ball rule” from the conditions of play for PIAA competition, effective July 1, 2016.
· On a second reading, a proposal to draw attention to Pennsylvania Law regarding bullying and hazing by including those provisions within the existing appendix to the PIAA Constitution and By-Laws.
· On a first reading basis, a proposed contract moratorium on the imposition of a penalty for breaking contracts in the sport of football for this fall season only, due to the change in classifications.
· On a first reading basis, a proposal to remove the use of shoulder pads by football players during out of season activities.
· On a first reading basis, a proposal to limit contact for football practice from 90 minutes to 60 minutes during the regular season.
ITEM 8 Chairman Majikes updated the District II Committee on the results of the use of the Arena for the 2016 Basketball Championships. A complete and detailed report will be provided at a later date.
ITEM 9Chairman Majikes also reviewed the topics discussed at the PIAA Strategic Planning Committee meeting held in Hershey on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Those topics included the classification numbers for magnet schools, hazing/bullying policy, assignors and compliance with clearance policies, out of season football requirements, moratorium on contracts for football games, and a discussion on the current cooperative agreement procedures.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes reviewed the final disqualification reports for both Basketball and Wresting for the 2015-2016 season. District II had the following disqualification numbers for those seasons:
· Boys Varsity Basketball Players 3
· Boys JV/JH Basketball Players 5
· Girls Varsity Basketball Players 2
· Girls JV/JH Basketball Players 2
· Boys Varsity Basketball Coaches 0
· Boys JV/JH Basketball Coaches 2
· Girls Varsity Basketball Coaches 1
· Girls JV/JH Basketball Coaches 2
· Boys Varsity Wrestlers 3
· Boys JV Wrestlers 0
· Boys JH Wrestlers 1
· Boys Varsity Wrestling Coaches 0
· Boys JV Wrestling Coaches 0
· Boys JH Wrestling Coaches 1
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes provided committee members present with the written reports he has received from both Carbondale Area and Holy Redeemer following the incident at the conclusion of their February 18, 2016 District II Girls AA Playoff game held at Wyoming Area High School. Following a committee review of the report and discussion, a motion was made by Danielle Adams, seconded by Fred Barletta, that a District II Committee hearing be held requiring both schools and relevant school personnel to attend. Also, any other game personnel – officials, etc. that the Chairman feels essential to the hearing will be required to attend. All Ayes. Chairman Majikes will arrange the hearing in the very near future.
ITEM 12 A motion was made by John Haas, seconded by Mary Ruth Tanner, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary