(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — As the result of a concerted effort to accommodate the growing number of female wrestlers, the 2020-21 high school wrestling rules changes are headlined by significant adjustments to weigh-in protocol and appropriate hair-length requirements.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee met April 5-6 and recommended 11 rules changes to take effect next school year. In accordance with current health safety guidelines, the rules meeting was held in an online format. All rules revisions recommended by the Wrestling Rules Committee were approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

“These rule changes are some of the most prolific modifications in the history of high school wrestling,” said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS director of sports and student services and liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee. “The rules committee made necessary, drastic changes to attract more young people to our sport without sacrificing the health and safety of the participants.”

The weigh-in procedure was altered through a combination of changes to Rule 4-5 (Weighing-In) of the Wrestling Rule Book. Following an amendment to the legal uniform laid out in Rule 4-1-1c, which now permits female wrestlers to wear a form-fitted compression shirt that completely covers their breasts in addition to a one-piece singlet and a suitable undergarment, Rule 4-5-7 was rewritten to require that a legal uniform be worn during weigh-in and that no additional weight allowance be granted. An additional clause prohibiting shoes and ear guards during weigh-in was also written into 4-5-7.

Weighing-in with a legal uniform allowed the committee to break down more gender barriers with subsequent changes to Rules 4-5-1, 4-5-2 and 4-5-4. Previously, weigh-ins consisted of shoulder-to-shoulder lineups of each contestant that were separated by gender (4-5-2), took place a maximum of one hour prior to competition (4-5-1) and required supervision by a referee of each respective gender (4-5-4).

With the institution of the legal uniform (one-piece singlet or two-piece), male and female wrestlers are now able to weigh-in together in the same lineup, allowing gender-specific language to be removed from all three rules. Additionally, the form-fitted compression shirt offers females a more suitable uniform for post-weigh-in skin checks, which are typically done by male officials.

“The change to the weighing-in process is remarkably timely, as schools have struggled in the past to identify adult females to weigh-in the female wrestlers,” Hopkins said. “This action accommodates transgender children as well; it respects their rights and dignity and addresses any modesty concerns for any affected children. We anticipate that the entire weigh-in process will be expedited and more efficient.”

Significant changes to the hair-length rule (Rule 4-2-1) were also linked to the committee’s focus on inclusion. Previously, a wrestler’s hair could not “extend below the top of an ordinary shirt collar” in the back, below earlobe level on the sides or below the eyebrows in the front. Those confinements, along with the requirement that a hair cover be used for hair that exceeded said limitations, were deleted. Considerable support for this rule change from coaches and officials was generated by an initiative of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, which successfully experimented with relaxed hair restrictions this past winter.

“Removing the hair-length rule is a monumental change,” Hopkins said. “It is important to embrace the current culture of young boys and girls who are expressing themselves through their appearance, making this the perfect opportunity to extend wrestling to young people who otherwise would not be attracted to our sport. While the hair-length restriction has been removed, the requirement that hair-control devices/treatment items cannot be hard, abrasive or sharp remains. If a hair cover is used, it shall be attached to the ear guards. Additionally, the barring of oils, or greasy substances on or in the hair is still in effect.”

Another modification to the wrestling uniform came through Rule 4-1-3. In order to curtail participants from intentionally lacing their shoes too loosely to cause a stoppage in the action and potentially thwart an opponent’s scoring opportunity, a technical violation will be assessed in any instance where a shoe comes off, and the injury clock will be started to correct the situation. This change is made under the assumption that a wrestler is, in fact, properly equipped to wrestle when the match begins, as a wrestling shoe that is properly laced and secured will not typically come off.

Technical violations were the subject of change in Rule 7-3-1 as well. To avoid penalizing a participant twice for the same sequence of events, wording was added to 7-3-1 declaring that points will not be awarded to a wrestler whose opponent has fled the mat if that wrestler has already scored for a near-fall or takedown.

Under Rule 8-1-4, a match will now automatically be stopped and restarted in the event a wrestler commits a fourth stalling violation. Previously, if the offender was called for a fourth stall of the match while in the defensive or neutral position, there was no guarantee his or her opponent would be awarded choice of position through a restart if the violation occurred during the third period.

“This rule remedies that if the fourth stall occurs in the third period there might not be an opportunity to restart before the end of the match,” Hopkins said. “This rule change assures that the offending wrestler is held accountable and subsequent points are awarded to the opponent.”

Based on the hair-length changes, Rule 5-29-1, which addresses unnecessary roughness, was edited to include “pulling an opponent’s hair” as an additional example of the offense.

Finally, a new article was added to Rule 8-2 dealing with participant injuries. Rule 8-2-9 has been designed to discourage wrestlers from requesting injury time from the official as an attempt to stop an opponent from scoring. If the referee determines a wrestler would have scored had the injury time-out not taken place, the injured contestant will be charged an injury time-out and applicable points will be awarded to the non-injured party.

According to the 2018-19 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, wrestling is the seventh-most popular sport for boys with 247,441 participants in 10,843 schools. In addition, the number of female wrestlers increased by almost 5,000 participants in 2018-19, as 21,124 girls competed in 2,890 schools.

(CHSAANow.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — Due to the cancellation of spring sports at high schools across the country, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will not be publishing new rules (both print and digital) for 2021 in the sports of baseball, softball, track and field, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse.

Because very few schools were able to compete in these sports prior to the March shutdown of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, competition in these sports in 2021 will be conducted under 2020 NFHS rules for baseball, softball, track and field, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse.

“Since most schools were not able to practice or play a game in these sports, we thought it was best to carry the 2020 rules publications forward to next year,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS executive director. “Our rules committees in these sports will conduct virtual meetings this summer but will not be approving any additional rules changes.”

Among the five aforementioned sports, a total of eight 2020 NFHS publications will be used for the 2021 season, including the Baseball Rules Book, Baseball Case Book, Softball Rules Book, Softball Case Book, Track and Field/Cross Country Rules Book, Track and Field/Cross Country Case Book, Girls Lacrosse Rules Book and Boys Lacrosse Rules Book. In addition, the 2020 NFHS Simplified and Illustrated Rules and 2020 Rules by Topic books for baseball and softball produced in concert with Referee Enterprises Inc. (REI) will be used in 2021 as well.

The NFHS Baseball Umpires Manual and the NFHS Track and Field/Cross Country Officials Manual will be published this year as scheduled since these are two-year publications.

As a result of this change, the NFHS will be working with its member state associations to fulfill needs for additional 2020 spring sports rules publications in advance of the 2021 season.

The NFHS has been publishing playing rules for high school sports since the 1930s when the first high school football rules were published. Currently, the NFHS publishes rules in printed and digital forms in 17 sports for girls and boys competition.

INDIANAPOLIS — Several prominent music publishers have temporarily allowed the use of their copyrighted music for educational purposes through an agreement with the NFHS and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). These guidelines are designed to allow high school musicians to complete their year-end assessments and for classroom instruction while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The agreement will expire on June 15.

“The publishers have been gracious with their permissions to allow students the ability to complete their year-end assessments while remaining copyright compliant,” said Dr. James Weaver, director of performing arts and sports.  “The NFHS has worked for many years to help schools be copyright compliant. This move by the publishers should be applauded for the assistance they are providing schools in this unprecedented time.”

For music to be distributed for K-12 assessment and adjudication, student recordings must meet the following guidelines:

• Performances can only be shared for educational assessment or state adjudication purposes.
• Performances must be shared in as private of a setting as possible and must be viewable only by an individual link.
• The recorded performance must use legally purchased music.
• Any arrangements made shall have proper permissions secured prior to recording.
• Once the recorded performance has been adjudicated, it must be deleted from the sharing platform.

“These requirements are designed to allow schools and students to still participate in their music education as well as protect the intellectual property of the music publishers,” said Weaver. “The permissions afforded by the publishers are temporary in order to get us through the remainder of the school year.”

The five publishing houses that have agreed to allow their music to be used include:

• Alfred
• Barnhouse
• Hal Leonard
• Warner-Chappell Music
• Warner Entertainment

Collectively, the publishers account for approximately 95 percent of available educational music.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

INDIANAPOLIS — Providing more clarity on a proper race finish and official timing procedures are among the noteworthy high school swimming and diving rules changes for the 2020-21 school year.

These topics were among those discussed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Swimming and Diving Rules Committee at its annual meeting March 22-23, where a total of six rules changes were recommended for approval. The rules meeting was held in an online format to comply with current health safety guidelines. All recommendations were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Rule 1-1-1 was edited to profile the end wall in more detail. Previously described as “the walls perpendicular to the race course,” the new definition broadens the term to include “the vertical portion of the pool, contiguous surface of the deck and overflow gutter, the front of the starting block or platform, or the touchpad at the end of the course.”

“This additional language provides clarity on what constitutes the end wall,” said Sandy Searcy, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Swimming and Diving Rules Committee. “The 2019-20 rules book changed the definition of the finish of the race by permitting the swimmer to finish at the end wall, not the touchpad. That change necessitated a more concise definition of the end wall.”

The end wall was also referenced in the change to Rule 6-3-2, which specified acceptable methods for measuring “official” times. When a legal touch is made with the end wall to signify a legal finish, buttons and/or stopwatches, which are commonly used for backup timing, are now explicitly listed as alternatives to touchpads.

Clarity to the usage of backup timing devices was also addressed in a change to Rule 6-3-4. Whereas official times could previously only be taken from backup mechanisms in the event of a malfunction to the automatic timing equipment, the rule’s new language was written to incorporate all other instances where an official time is not properly recorded.

“This rule change more accurately describes the protocol for determining an official time when the competitor contacts the end wall and not the touchpad,” Searcy said. “Backup buttons or stopwatches may need to be used in situations where the swimmer does not activate the touchpad or the touchpad malfunctions. This phrase clarifies conditions when the swimmer does not touch the touchpad initially.”

New articles were added to Rules 1-4-5 and 1-4-6 to differentiate the terms diving “round” from diving “session” and bring consistency to those definitions. Used frequently throughout Rule 9 of the rules book, a diving session refers to one of the various levels – preliminary, semifinal and final – within an 11-dive competition, while a diving round is the completion of one dive by each participant. Additionally, divers are now permitted to practice in between diving sessions at the discretion of meet management.

Alterations were made to the uniform code under Rules 3-3-3 and 3-3-4c regarding accepted and prohibited manufacturers’ logos. In addition to the mark signifying approval from the international governing body for aquatic sports, FINA, the USA Swimming checkmark logo is now considered an acceptable suit marking.

“This rule is a clarification of what the swimming community may see on suits this fall as a result of a rule change made by USA Swimming,” Searcy said. “A small checkmark will be positioned next to the FINA marking on some suits and is not considered as an additional manufacturer’s logo or advertising.”

Finally, headings were added to Rules 9-3-3 and 9-3-5 to help explain the two-step process for entering divers at championship meets. The process includes entering the divers and swimmers’ first and last names, events and school affiliations onto an official team entry document, and then submitting the document at the time and place specified by the meet manager. Subsequently, divers will submit a scoresheet/dive list to complete the process of their entry into the diving event.

According to the 2018-19 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, swimming and diving is the 10^th-most popular sport for boys with 136,638 participants in 7,704 schools, and the eighth-most popular sport for girls with 173,088 participants in 8,007 schools.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

UPDATE: Spring sports are now suspended until April 30

The Colorado High School Activities Association, following the most recent recommendation of state and federal health officials, has announced changes in the spring sports and activities schedules.

On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis announced new restrictions on public gatherings to help slow the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic. Polis ordered the closure of large gathering places across Colorado for 30 days, effective at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

“In light of Governor Jared Polis’ announcement Monday afternoon, we are announcing that the Association will follow the guidelines that went into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday and will remain in effect for 30 days,” CHSAA Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green said. “This media and school advisory is to keep the membership apprised of the latest decisions from the CHSAA office.”

These updates include:

• The suspension of spring sports and activities is extended through April 18. CHSAA encourages schools to set stricter standards on student gatherings outside of the high school. This suspension means no practices or competition.
• All CHSAA music events have been cancelled for 2020.
• The CHSAA Hall of Fame, scheduled for April 14, has been cancelled.
• The CHSAA Legislative Council meeting, scheduled for April 15, has been postponed pending changes in the public gathering restrictions.
• The State Speech Tournament and Student Leadership’s Advisor U have been postponed until later in the spring pending changes in the public gathering restrictions.
• The CHSAA office will remain closed until March 30, with staff working remotely from home.

The CHSAA will recognize individual participants from the CHSAA state basketball championships with a memento in the coming weeks to recognize their leadership and resolve during that week.

National and state decisions related to the COVID-19 virus are changing daily, even hourly, so new updates will be posted on CHSAANow.com and communicated via email to schools and media.

(David Johnson/davidjohnsonphotography.org)

Throughout the process of communicating our plan regarding the state basketball tournaments in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have maintained that the tournaments would be played unless a state agency or a host venue made a decision affecting that status.

On Thursday evening, the CHSAA office was informed by the University of Denver that the school would no longer be able to host the Class 3A state basketball tournament.

With uncertainty at all additional sites, including a state of emergency declaration by the City of Denver, the difficult decision has been made to cancel the remainder of all state basketball tournaments in all classes.

“Everything we’ve done up to this point was to try and keep the experience of a state basketball tournament for our student participants and high school communities,” said CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green. “In the face of this unprecedented public health emergency, we are compelled to discontinue play in all tournaments.”

The move is in line with similar decisions from the NCAA, which cancelled all remaining winter sports championships and spring sports championships. Additionally, other high school associations, such as Connecticut, Oregon, Texas, California and Kentucky have made similar announcements. Some of those, including Wisconsin and Kansas, canceled on Thursday night.

“We want to thank those who have supported us through the difficult decisions in these uncertain times,” Blanford-Green said.

(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

Over the course of the past week, our office communicated consistently said that our plan is to hold our state championships events without changes unless directed otherwise by a state agency or facility administration.

On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., Gov. Jared Polis announced that the state wants large public gatherings, including sporting events, “to establish protocols where they can establish safe spacing at events” to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

After the press conference, CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green consulted with state educational and health departments, and they advised a higher standard of risk minimization than originally communicated with the additional cases that have been reported in Colorado over the last 24 hours.

Logistically — and with the state tournaments set to begin in less than 13 hours — this goal of social spacing is beyond the scope of our host facilities. In addition, at least one of our venues has indicated that we would not be able to host games with fans in attendance for the bulk of the tournament.

Therefore, we are making the difficult decision to limit attendance to essential team personnel only, without fans in attendance. Essential personnel means only those who have been submitted on the official CHSAA gate list by schools will be able to enter the venue. No spirit teams or bands will be permitted entry. Media will be permitted to attend, if they have a CHSAA-issued pass.

In response to several inquiries from family members of participants, each player will be allowed to have a maximum of four guests attend games. CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann will be communicating directly with schools on instructions of how those guests will enter the venues, and how things will operate within the venue.

Games in all classifications will be available on the NFHS Network this weekend, meaning fans will not miss out on the tournament. Additionally, CHSAANow.com will be providing live coverage of the games.

The decision is being made based upon recommendations by health officials in all areas, and follows decisions made by neighboring states, and the NCAA, including their postseason events being held in Colorado.

“While this decision is a difficult one, we do want the students who have worked so hard to be able to have a culminating event that reflects the commitment they have made throughout the season,” Blanford-Green said.

“We knew that this was an evolving situation, and our goal was to have a tournament that goes on without interruption,” Blanford-Green said. “But circumstances have changed with this pandemic, and the focus must now be on how we give the kids the experience of a state champ event.”

A refund policy for tickets purchased will be communicated on Thursday.

Our office will continue to monitor this situation closely, and provide updates if necessary. 

We continue to support our member schools and school districts, and the local decisions they are making in the best interest of their students and communities.

During his press conference, Gov. Polis stressed the need for community help in combating the virus.

“I know that many Coloradoans are upset, frustrated and, in fact, scared,” Polis said. “Some are disappointed that your conference or your graduations or your gatherings are cancelled … and those are normal feelings. We all understand that, and we all share that. But we need you to be part of working with us of doing everything we can at the state level to respond to this virus, and to reduce the trajectory of its spread.”

(Lisa Hayes/StillOfTheMomentPhotography.com)

All spring sports and activities will be suspended until early April to address concerns surrounding the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green announced on Thursday.

The 2020 spring sports season — including all practices and competition — the state speech tournament, and student leadership’s Advisor U are suspended through April 6. All music festivals are canceled through April 6. Additionally, an outreach with the Colorado Athletic Directors Association will be conducted remotely at a date to be announced.

The decision is effective Friday, March 13. The decision to continue competition on Thursday is up to local schools and school districts.

The situation will be monitored and evaluated with key decision-makers from around the state to determine when, or if, to resume the spring season.

On Wednesday morning, Blanford-Green convened a digital conference with more than 50 administrators, representing diverse levels of leadership from all parts of the state to collaboratively create a plan. That group arrived at a consensus to support the decision made by the CHSAA office.

“I want to thank the Board of Directors, membership and CHSAA staff for their support and guidance,” Blanford-Green said. “The collaborative decision-making has been in the best interest of our students and school communities, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Further information about the spring sports season will be communicated via CHSAANow, when available.

(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

UPDATE: Attendance for state basketball has been limited to essential team personnel only

Dear Colorado high school basketball participants, coaches, fans, communities, and CHSAA supporters:

I am writing you today to keep an open line of communication from our office to you with regard to COVID-19 and our culminating championships.

We are in direct contact with relevant state agencies, as well as the host facilities, which would guide us in making any changes in the schedule to our state basketball tournaments. Last week, we let you know that our plan is to conduct the championship events unless directed by state agencies and/or facility administration of cancellations. On Tuesday, we reiterated that plan.

Per state guidance, and out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging those above the age of 60, or those in at-risk populations, to avoid large crowds, as data shows they are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19, if exposed.

We will remain in contact with those monitoring the situation to make the best decisions on behalf of our students and our high school fans and communities.

Our student-athletes, high school fans and communities, are at the forefront of any decisions we would make moving forward, regardless of financial impact. We fully understand and believe in what our tournaments mean to our communities, and our goal is to uphold the experience of the participants and fans without compromising health or safety. We are open to all options going forward if a directive which impacts our state tournaments is made by state agencies.

We will continue to support the local administrative decisions made in the best interests of their school communities.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Blanford-Green

CHSAA Commissioner

Rhonda Blanford-Green. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

UPDATE: Attendance for state basketball has been limited to essential team personnel only

With today’s news that Gov. Jared Polis has declared a state of emergency in Colorado, the CHSAA office reiterates that Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green’s statement from last week remains true today.

Per the Commissioner’s statement on March 4, “Our plan is to conduct the championship events unless directed by state agencies and/or facility administration of cancellations.”

The full statement is below:

I am in contact with multiple state and local agencies in regards to any changes that may occur with CHSAA culminating championships. The state and local agencies as well as our facility administrators have me on their “high alert” communications. If there are closures, logistics will be communicated to the membership and posted to CHSAANow immediately.

My suggestion is that these discussions and contingency plans happen at the local level should a school terminate contact and the state event still contested. Our plan is to conduct the championship events unless directed by state agencies and/or facility administration of cancellations.

The safety and well-being of our participants, staffs, volunteers and fans will be in the forefront of all decisions.

Spring sports competition, and decisions regarding regular season events, are up to local schools and school districts. The CHSAA office sent out a school memo today that regular season games cancelled would not affect postseason qualification and seeding.

“The safety and well-being of high school students in school communities must be the priority,” Blanford-Green said. “We support our local school districts to make the best decisions for their school communities, and will work with them as needed.”