Meeting was convened at 4:20 p.m. by Chairman Frank Majikes
ITEM 1 Chairman Majikes called the meeting to order at 4:20 p.m.
Absent but accounted for: Danielle Adams, Frank Galicki, Joseph Farrell, Jim Higgins, Bill Schoen and Chad Vinansky
Advisors Present: Atty. Donald Rogers, District II Solicitor
Chairman Majikes began the meeting by welcoming the newest District II Committee member, Ron Collins, Principal of North Pocono High School.
ITEM 2 A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Vito Quaglia, to approve the minutes of the September 17, 2014 meeting. All Ayes
ITEM 3 Frank Victor presented the Treasurer’s Report. As of October 21, 2014 the total fund balance stands at $212,595.97. The total Certificates of Deposit is $12,596.16, while the total Savings and Checking Account Balance is $199,999.81. Our starting balance, as of July 1, 2014, was $217,951.12. Following the presentation, a motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the report as presented. All Ayes
ITEM 4 Sports Reports:
· Cross Country (Bill King): Bill King reviewed the plans for tomorrow’s Cross Country Championships to be held at Elk Lake Junior-Senior High School. He explained that he had toured the course earlier in the day with the school administration and everything looks great. He thanked the Elk Lake Administration and School Board in their efforts for preparing the site for the visiting schools and looks forward to a great championship competition tomorrow.
· Tennis (Pat Sheehan): Pat Sheehan reviewed the recently completed championships and informed the committee that AAA Team Champion Abington Heights and AA Team Champion Scranton Prep won their first round matches in the state team championships. They will now compete this Friday in the state team quarterfinals at the Hershey Racquet Club.
· Volleyball (Maureen Williams): Maureen Williams reviewed the seeding procedures for the district championships. All league competition concludes on Friday with the District Championships scheduled to begin on Monday of next week.
· Field Hockey (Chris Gegaris): Chris Gegaris discussed the brief controversy regarding the seeding criteria for the championships and explained his communication process with member schools that led to the utilization of the overall league record versus the divisional record in establishing the seeds. Chairman Majikes explained that he had received a communication from a member school regarding that decision, which led to today’s discussion. Following the discussion, the committee affirmed the seeding as presented by Chris.
· Soccer (Al Holtzer): Al Hotzer informed the group that the District Soccer Playoffs began last evening with a AA Girls play in game and will continue through the next two weeks. He thanked the seeding committee for their efforts and looks forward to very competitive championships in all classifications.
· Wrestling (Jay Starnes): Jay Starnes distributed dates of interest for the 2015 District II Wrestling Championships. The league deadline for the completion of schedules is January 28th with the seeding meeting to follow on January 29th. The team dual tournament will be held at the Kingston Armory on January 31st to be followed by the state team tournament on February 5th through the 7th at the Hershey Giant Center. The District II Individual Championships will be held on February 20th and 21st. The seeding meeting to establish the brackets for that tournament will be held on February 18th. Individual Regionals will follow on February 27th and 28th and the State Individual Championships will be at the Hershey Giant Center on March 5th through the 7th. .
· Football (Mike Ognosky): The current standings are located on the web page and are up to date through Week #8. The District II Football Committee will be meeting on Sunday, November 2nd at 9 a.m. at the Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technology Center to determine the final seedings and develop the playoff brackets. That information will then be disseminated to those schools who will be participating. All member schools have indicated their desire to participate in this year’s playoffs – there were no opt outs received.
ITEM 5 Al Holtzer, Athletic Director Representative from the Lackawanna
League, explained that his group has requested that the District II Committee consider a minimum winning percentage for all schools
entering an open tournament. Their suggestion was that in order to
qualify for a tournament a team must win 30 % of their league games. Chairman Majikes explained that a number of Districts in the state currently utilize a minimum winning percentage criteria for entry into the tournament and this has been discussed previously by our committee. The current open format will remain intact for this cycle but consideration of this request will be discussed looking toward the next two year cycle.
ITEM 6 Fred Barletta, Athletic Director Representative from the WVC, had a
question on behalf of his group regarding eligibility at the Junior High
level for a 7th, 8th, or 9th grade student competing in Football on both the 7th and 8th grade team and the Freshmen Team. After discussion, Eligibility Chairman Mike Ognosky was asked to contact the state office for the interpretation of this concern. Following a discussion with the state office the following eligibility requirements are in place in this situation. Following the process of declaring 9th graders for either the Varsity or Junior High Level here is the process in all sports –
Junior High competition will include 7th, 8th and 9th grade (excluding any 9th graders that have been moved up to JV/Varsity in that particular sport). Think of the 9th grade (Freshmen) team as the Varsity team and the 7th/8th grade team (if one team) or the 7th and 8th grade teams (if two teams) as the Junior Varsity team to the 9th grade (Freshmen) team. Just as any JV player can move back and forth to the Varsity during the season, and any Varsity player can move back and forth to the JV team during the season, the same holds true at the Junior High level. Any 9th grader can play “down” at the 7th and 8th grade level, and any 7th or 8th grader can play up at the 9th grade level. So, in the fall if you have a Monday night Freshmen game and a Tuesday night 7th/8th grade game any of those players can play in both games – so a 7th,8th or 9th grade football player could possible play in a total of 20 football games per season. In the winter, if a school sponsors a 7th grade, an 8th grade, and a 9th grade basketball team, any 7th-9th grader can participate at all three levels – could possibly play in a total 66 games.
The only other exception to this rule is an age rule. A 9th grade student who has attained the age of 16 prior to July 1st of the upcoming school year is not allowed to play “down” as an age limitation. The PIAA strongly encouraged schools to play 9th graders who have that age limitation “up” at the JV/Varsity level.
ITEM 7 Chairman Majikes informed the committee that he has had discussions
with the PSBA Region 7 Representative and they are in the process of filling the current vacancy of a school board member on the District II Committee. Hopefully, we will have a new school board member on the committee at the November meeting.
ITEM 8 The District II Committee acted upon the following eligibility requests presented at this evening’s meeting:
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the eligibility of Destiny Youmans, GAR to Wyoming Valley West, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Fred Barletta, seconded by Chris Gegaris, to approve the eligibility of Alexander Ruberto, Wallenpaupack to West Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Patte, seconded by Vito Quaglia, to approve the eligibility of William Sawyer, Western Wayne to West Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Al Holtzer, seconded by Bill King, to approve the eligibility of Gabriella McMahon, Wyoming Valley West to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Pat Sheehan, seconded by Jay Starnes, to approve the eligibility of Anthony Martinario, Wyoming Area to Tunkhannock, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Maureen Williams, seconded by Fred Barletta, to approve the eligibility of Jonathan Herrera, Scranton to Old Forge, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Gegaris, seconded by Chris Thomas, to approve the eligibility of Cade Flanley, Scranton Prep to Holy Redeemer, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Vito Quaglia, seconded by Pat Patte, to approve the eligibility of Cole Rakauskas, Stockdale to West Scranton, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Ron Collins, seconded by Eric Emmerich, to approve the eligibility of Tracie Cistrunk, Wyoming Area to Wilkes-Barre Meyers, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
· A motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Pat Sheehan, to approve the eligibility of Seth Callahan, Wyoming Seminary to GAR, in accordance with Article VI, Section 4, of the PIAA By-Laws, principal-to-principal sign off, effective immediately. All Ayes
ITEM 9 Chairman Majikes provided each committee member with an updated directory and reviewed the information with the group. There were a number of changes and they are now available to all member schools on the “Committee” page on the District II website, www.piaad2.org.
ITEM 10 Chairman Majikes discussed with the committee the 100th Year PIAA Anniversary Dinner that will be held in conjunction with the PIAA Football Championships on Thursday, December 11th in Hershey. Each member district has been asked to sponsor a table at the event. Proceeds from the dinner will be utilized by the PIAA Foundation to provide scholarships to students at member schools for attendance to leadership conferences. Following discussion, a motion was made by Chris Thomas, seconded by Bill King. To approve the sponsorship of a table at the dinner. All Ayes
ITEM 11 Chairman Majikes reviewed the actions taken at the most recent PIAA State Board of Directors’ Meeting of Wednesday, October 1, 2014. Minutes of that meeting can be found on the District II Website.
ITEM 12 A motion was made by Jay Starnes, seconded by Chris Thomas, to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes
Meeting was adjourned at 6:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Ognosky
Mike Ognosky
District II Secretary