In May 1921, 99 years ago this month, the first ever Board meeting of the organization of what became the Colorado High School Activities Association was held.
That organization, the Colorado High School Athletic League, was founded on April 2, 1921. They held a “meeting of the Central Board of Control” at the University of Colorado in Boulder the following month, and conducted two items of business:
They set a date for “filing applications … for League membership to the State Athletic Association.” That date was June 1, 1921. This date later became a source of controversy during the first sanctioned football season, as Canon City had one of the best teams in the state, but was shut out of a chance at a state title because it missed that deadline. Here’s the whole story of that first season.
And the Board divided the state up into four regions:
The San Luis Division. It consisted of “all schools south of Colorado Springs.”
The Central Division. This stretched far-and-wide, and is pretty unimaginable today, including Denver, Colorado Springs, “towns of Denver suburban league, and all towns east of Denver to the state line and all mountain towns to the west.”
The Northern Division. It included “Boulder and north and east to the state line.”
The Western Division. Schools included “those … in the Western division of the State Teachers’ Association.”
The first president of the original organization was R.W. Truscott, who officiated the first state football championship game. Truscott later served for 21 years as the Association’s commissioner, from 1926 to 1948.
John C. Casey, of Eaton, was named the first “president” of the association. This title was later changed to commissioner during Truscott’s tenure in 1930. Casey served for five years. (Note: The Board minutes say that Casey is from Longmont, but he actually was from Eaton.)
The Board minutes from that meeting were found by assistant commissioner Bert Borgmann in CHSAA’s archives:
For several weeks, Americans have been awaiting answers to several questions. When will restaurants restart dine-in services? When will hair salons and gyms be open? When will people be able to congregate for worship services? And, of course, when will education-based sports and activities return?
And the answer to the all-important last question is the same as the first three – it varies from state to state.
If there was ever any doubt about the popularity and interest in high school sports and performing arts – and how much these programs have been missed during the past three months – it was erased last week as the NFHS released its Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities document.
The response was non-stop through the mainstream media as well as our social media platforms as the first nationwide discussion about the return of high school sports and other activities was in full swing.
Since that disappointing week in mid-March when it seemed like all of life came to a halt, millions of people – from high school students, coaches, parents, administrators, officials and fans – have been looking forward to the return of school-based sports and other activity programs. And the guidance document offered some hope that soon the light at the end of tunnel will not be the oncoming train we have felt for many weeks.
Now, state high school associations are developing timetables and protocols for return of activities in their states. And those guidelines will be different from state to state. This is not a one-size-fits-all plan. Depending on the specific circumstances of a state with respect to the containment of the virus, its progression through the various phases of returning to activities could be much different than another state.
As the guidance document developed by the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee noted, our hope is that students can return to school-based athletics and activities in any and all situations where it can be done smartly. When it comes to education-based sports and performing arts within our nation’s schools, nothing is more important than the health and safety of the participants AND the individuals conducting those programs.
Some individuals have expressed concern that our guidance document is too cautious, noting that some non-school youth programs have already restarted in some areas.
In one state this past week, a non-school sports program was allowed to restart because the “data shows children are less affected by the coronavirus.” While the preponderance of evidence shows that to be true, plans in education-based activities will include also protection for adults who coach, officiate and administer those events, which may be seen as a more conservative approach.
Within high school sports, the drive of coaches and dreams of parents cannot run ahead of player safety. Last week, a successful high school football coach with three previous state titles was suspended for allegedly holding practices. And there have been reports of parents considering moving to another state with fewer COVID-19 cases to enhance the chance of their son playing football and earning a college scholarship.
The NFHS, through its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, took action in developing its Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities document. The various state high school associations are taking action in the coming weeks in developing plans for a return to activities at the state level.
Now, we would ask parents and other fans to take action – and that action is patience. The urge to return to normal is understandable, but the path back to where we were three months ago will take time, and that “time” will not happen at the expense of the safety and well-being of everyone involved in high school sports and performing arts programs.
CHSAA is lifting the moratorium against in-person condition sessions between coaches and high school participants beginning on June 1.
After that date, decisions regarding athletics and activities through the summer months will be made at the local school district level. The CHSAA’s administrative oversight for athletics and activities will resume when camps, clinics and fall sports practice dates are projected to begin.
“This isn’t recreational park play or a free-for-all,” said CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green. “Our schools will face some challenges, no different than professional and collegiate sports to resume any level of student participation.”
“Each district’s individual date of return has been fully supported by our office,” Blanford-Green continued. “Our school administrators have assessed their local situations and have made the best decisions based on the safety and well-being of their students and school personnel.”
Blanford-Green provided schools with suggested recommendations in an email sent on Tuesday, which referenced national, state and health guidelines to assist the membership with resuming activities and athletics while prioritizing safety standards and protocols.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Blanford-Green said. “As with reopening our country and our state, taking incremental steps within the mandated and suggested guidelines will be critical in ensuring the success of transitioning from virtual to in-person.
“I have strongly recommended that each school or district have a comprehensive plan in place during this transition, and that their school communities including participants, parents and especially coaches are informed of the expectations prior to physical contact or conducting in-person sessions,” she added.
“Our students, coaches, schools and the Association are ready to resocialize back to participation,” Blanford-Green said. “The importance of returning to education-based athletics and activities reaches beyond a contest or a perceived scholarship. It is about reconnecting our students — socially, emotionally and physically.”
The CHSAA Resocialization Task Force will meet after June 1 to begin discussions on athletics and activities for high school participation for the 2020-21 school year.
All relevant bylaws still apply during this period, including football equipment rules, and camp limitations.
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INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time in its history, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will host an abridged, virtual version of its annual Summer Meeting to accommodate public-gathering restrictions brought on by the Coronavirus.
Originally slated to be held June 28-July 2 in Denver, Colorado, the 2020 NFHS Summer Meeting will now be conducted Sunday, June 28, through Wednesday, July 1, utilizing a series of video conferences. The NFHS Board of Directors meeting, along with a few special-interest summits, will be held on Sunday, June 28.
NFHS Executive Director Karissa Niehoff will lead the Opening General Session at 12 p.m. EST on June 29 to begin the festivities and will join Mark Beckman, executive director of the Montana High School Association and president of the NFHS Board of Directors for 2019-20, to provide “NFHS Updates” at 1 p.m. on June 30.
During the three-day conference, which will run online from 12 p.m. to about 5 p.m. each day, more than 20 workshops in five different sessions will be offered to state association staff members and board members on a variety of pertinent topics. Other sessions include the Sports Information Directors Workshop and Women’s Leadership Summit on June 29, and the National Council Meeting and Legal/Sports Medicine Workshop on July 1.
This marks the second straight year that the NFHS Summer Meeting will have a different look and feel. Last year, the NFHS celebrated its 100th Summer Meeting with its Centennial Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis, with a number of additional events from the normal annual gathering of staff members and board members from member state high school associations. The 101stSummer Meeting this year will be even more unique.
“We are disappointed that we are not going to be able to hold our normal in-person Summer Meeting this year as our membership and our staff look forward to this time to reflect on the past year and plan for the upcoming year,” Niehoff said. “Our membership, however, was receptive to continuing this annual meeting virtually. Certainly, some of our workshops, roundtables and summits will address the difficult issues facing our state associations regarding re-opening of sports and activities this fall. While it will not be the same as our normal face-to-face setting, we are looking forward to this unique opportunity.”
Several events that are normally conducted at the NFHS Summer Meeting will not be held this year due to the cancellation of the in-person meeting. Most prominent among those events is the annual induction ceremony of the National High School Hall of Fame. The NFHS had announced its 38th class of the Hall of Fame about one week prior to the national shutdown in mid-March; however, with the cancellation of the in-person Summer Meeting, these individuals will now be inducted at the 2021 Summer Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
Twelve individuals were named to the Hall of Fame earlier this year, including seven former high school athletes – Karyn Bye Dietz of Wisconsin, Tim Couch of Kentucky, Alex English of South Carolina,Maicel (Malone) Green of Indiana, Matt Holliday of Oklahoma, Dave Logan of Colorado and Michele Smith of New Jersey. Others selected to the Hall of Fame who will be honored next summer include three outstanding high school coaches – Rickey Baker of Arizona, Charles Berry of Arkansas and Terry Michler of Missouri – along with Bill Farney, a state administrator from Texas, and Robert Littlefield, a speech and debate educator from North Dakota.
In addition, 12 leaders in high school activity programs who were previously announced to receive NFHS Citations at the Summer Meeting will be honored at the 2021 Summer Meeting in Orlando as well. Eight of the 12 award recipients represent NFHS member state high school associations, and four represent NFHS professional organizations for officials, coaches, music leaders and speech/debate/theatre directors.
The eight state association recipients are Tom Mezzanotte, Section 1, executive director, Rhode Island Interscholastic League, Warwick, Rhode Island; Mark Byers, Section 2, chief operating officer, Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Nessie HarrisarrHa, Section 3, retired associate commissioner, South Carolina High School League, Columbia, South Carolina;Kurt Gibson, Section 4, associate commissioner, Illinois High School Association, Bloomington, Illinois; Kathy Long, Section 5, administrative assistant, Missouri State High School Activities Association, Columbia, Missouri; Paul Angelico, Section 6, retired commissioner, Colorado High School Activities Association, Aurora, Colorado; Thomas Yoshida, Section 7, Hawaii High School Athletic Association, Honolulu, Hawaii; and Russell Schreckenghost, Section 8, associate director, Alaska School Activities Association, Anchorage, Alaska.
The four Citation recipients representing the NFHS professional organizations are Joe Tonelli, NFHS Officials Association, executive staff member, Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, Cheshire, Connecticut; Rob Younger, NFHS Coaches Association, executive director, Oregon Athletic Coaches Association, Sweet Home, Oregon; Cathleen Britton, NFHS Music Association, retired director of music, O’Gorman High School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Cheryl Frazier, NFHS Speech/Debate/Theatre/Academics Association, director of forensics and theatre, Southland College Prep High School, Richton Park, Illinois.
The Colorado High School Activities Association has convened a specialized task force to discuss the return of athletics and activities.
The CHSAA Resocialization Task Force will begin meeting in June, and will consist of educational leaders representing all levels of administration, classifications and state geography; CHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory members; as well as the members of the Board of Directors, and the CHSAA staff.
The purpose of the task force is to explore the many options on if, when or how, activities and athletics can resume for Colorado high schools.
Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green announced the purpose of the task force in an email to all schools on Thursday. She has already received an outpouring of interest of educational leaders willing to serve.
“The immediate and overwhelming response speaks volumes to amazing educational leaders across our state, who are committed to Colorado students and working with CHSAA to create this experience, knowing the challenges we will face,” said Blanford-Green. “Each and everyone that has reached out to members of our staff would elevate the discussion, so we will have another tough decision to make.”
In her email to schools, Blanford-Green wrote: “Every single sports entity from the professionals to little league are currently focused on how to resume participant engagement within a safe environment, free of health threats and liability. If resocialization was easy, we would all be watching current events instead of re-runs of the 2004 Athens Olympics.”
She added: “My goal, and that of the CHSAA staff, is to remain laser focused on the next steps for resuming CHSAA programs in a safe, educational, environment while mitigating operational efficiencies to reduce financial stressors for our membership.”
This Resocialization Task Force will not be pressured to commit to definitive dates or timelines, but is assembled to provide guidance to the Association that is consistent with Federal and State mandates.
“The term Resocialization was coined by the NCAA, I paused at first, but then I realized its overarching meaning, which is beyond just a game or a contest,” Blanford-Green said. “It’s about coming back to the culture of athletics and activities: teammates and socialization, and the support system that extends beyond. Resocialization embodies all the attributes of education-based participation that we all want and need to safely return.”
Blanford-Green will look at keeping this task force in place throughout the 2020-21 season.
The group will have a clear set of questions and topics to examine beginning in June:
Do students need to be fully engaged with in-person learning before the Association resumes activities and athletics?
Should CHSAA consider offering some activities and athletics if Federal, state, medical and safety guidelines can be met at the local and Association level?
Should CHSAA consider moving some activities and athletics to later start dates, such as September, October, or January, and consider extending the end of the season further than the traditional activities calendar?
Should CHSAA consider adjusting some activities and athletics to be conducted earlier or later than their traditional season?
Should we consider online participation for some activities in place of physical activation?
What safety measures will need to be in place to resume specific and/or all activities?
“Adjusting to the unimaginable impact that the pandemic has had on education and high school athletics will allow us to think outside the box and emerge as stronger leaders for students and programs across the state of Colorado,” Blanford-Green said.
Reopening is the key word in sports at all levels right now. Every day, there are new projections for when the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball will resume – and if the National Football League will start on time this fall.
Along with leaders of youth-level sports and the NCAA, the NFHS and its member state associations are exploring all options for conducting sports this fall. And while we all want answers, the truth is that there are more questions than answers at this point.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading national medical authority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, told ESPN earlier this week that “the virus will make the decision for us” on whether sports will return this fall. His comments underscore the need for leaders of all levels of sport in the United States to exercise great caution as we reengage in activities.
Without a doubt, education will play a larger role in the decision-making process for high school programs than for non-scholastic programs. Despite the significant loss of revenue that could occur at some levels if programs remained closed, health and safety concerns must take priority when it comes to reopening the sport or activity.
At the high school level, sports and other activity programs will most likely not return until schools reopen. High school sports and performing arts are education-based programs and complete the learning process on a day-to-day basis. As such, academics during the school day and sports and other activities after school are inseparable.
Could any of those sports and activities return without fans? That option is certainly not one schools favor, but it is a very real possibility. While a few state associations opted for that arrangement to complete state basketball tournaments, that is not a desired ongoing plan for school sports. Besides, this troubling question would have to be addressed: If it is unsafe for fans in the stands, is it safe for the students to be participating?
Students, parents and other fans in the stands cheering for and supporting student-athletes, and applauding from the theatre audience, are among the most wonderful aspects of education-based activities. Before accepting that arrangement, efforts will continue to make attending events a safe experience for everyone.
While we remain uncertain as to the timetable for the return of high school sports and other activities, we believe that when these programs return – and they will return – that everyone will bring renewed zeal to provide the 12 million participants in these programs the best experience possible.
One of the challenges to solving the crystal ball of high school sports and activities this fall is the uncertainty of the spread of the virus as states begin to reopen this month. The NFHS will continue to work with its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee on an ongoing basis to provide the most updated information.
With the non-negotiable tenet of safety for student activity participants, expect every avenue to be pursued so that students can be involved in football, soccer, volleyball, field hockey, speech, debate, music and many other school activities this fall.
INDIANAPOLIS — Beginning next year, high school basketball rules will further clarify when a contest is to be forfeited, including if a qualified individual is not present to coach.
A proposal for a national rule mandating a shot clock as well as a proposal to allow a shot clock by state adoption were not approved.
“Information was given to the Basketball Rules Committee that shared the votes in individual states on how coaches and officials voted in support of or non-support of the shot clock rule,” said Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee. “The conversation among the committee members explored the pros and cons of enacting the proposal as a rule for all states and likewise for state adoption. The committee will continue to explore the shot clock issue.”
These were among the topics discussed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its annual meeting April 14-16. 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 5-4-1 was one of three rules updated by the committee. It now states that a game is declared a forfeit if a coach is removed from the contest for unsporting conduct and no authorized school personnel are present to assume responsibility of the team.
“Most states have bylaws to cover the instance when no adult school staff is on the bench to attend to the team. Officials are not likely to read those bylaws and consequently not know that rule,” Wynns said. “Having the basketball rules cover such a situation helps the contest officials and coaches alike if such a situation were to arise.”
Rule 10-6-1 Penalty was also amended to clarify that an official is not required to provide a warning to a coach before a technical foul is given.
“This amends an existing rule that gave the impression that a warning was a prerequisite to ruling a technical foul,” Wynns. “Using the word ‘may’ helps one to understand that a warning is only an option.”
A timer’s responsibilities were addressed in Rule 2-12-5 when a player is disqualified or injured. A warning signal is sounded to begin a 15-second interval to replace a disqualified or injured player. A second warning signal was added when the 15 seconds expires to prepare teams for the resumption of play.
A complete listing of the basketball rules changes will be available on the NFHS website atwww.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Basketball.”
According to the 2018-19 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, a total of 540,769 boys participated in basketball in 18,617 schools, and 399,067 girls participated in the sport in 18,210 schools across the country. It is the third-most popular sport for boys and girls.
In the age of COVID-19, our hats are off to the many seniors who have shown maturity and resolve as a worldwide pandemic has impacted their culminating year of high school — athletics, activities, proms, graduations, and beyond.
To the Class of 2020: You will not be forgotten.
A special thanks to Mike Rice of KOA for lending his voice talents to this video.
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We asked seniors from across the state two questions: What did high school sports mean to you? And, What will you remember the most from your high school sports career?
On Monday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association became the 51st and final NFHS member state high school association to cancel its spring sports championships due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation announcements that began in late March, stretched to early May as states made every attempt possible to conduct spring sports and other activity programs.
Driven by a desire to offer perhaps a few weeks of competition – particularly for graduating seniors – many states waited as long as possible to move from postponed to cancelled, ultimately forced to make decisions when schools were closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the academic year.
While the leaders of our state associations knew that spring activities could not occur if schools did not re-open, and that the health and safety of the millions of participants ultimately drove these decisions, having to make these announcements was perhaps the most difficult task they had experienced as state leaders.
“We are disappointed for the thousands of New Jersey student-athletes who will be unable to compete this spring,” said Larry White, executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. “While we remained hopeful to the end, and left open every possibility, competition simply is not feasible given the circumstances. It has been a harrowing time for everyone, and we know our student-athletes are extremely disappointed. That said, these unfortunate circumstances may have put an intriguing challenge in the path of our young people. As New Jersey’s own Vince Lombardi once said, ‘It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.’ We’re confident all our kids will get back up and stand tall.”
“This decision, unlike the many decisions our office makes over the course of a year, has been extremely difficult because we are personally connected as former participants and officials, current parents and grandparents of graduating seniors, as well as educators and members of our high school communities. Our hats are off to the many seniors who have shown maturity and resolve as their culminating year of high school has been impacted beyond activities and athletics due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2020 will not be forgotten.”
Craig Anderson, executive director of the Illinois High School Association, said, “Our thoughts are with all the impacted students, coaches and communities, especially the seniors. It will be difficult for them to find a silver lining in all of this, but we stress that even if they don’t get the chance to compete again at the high school level, they are better for having been a part of their respective high school teams. They were exposed to life lessons in teamwork, leadership and overcoming adversity that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.”
What was at stake and who was affected by these cancellation announcements? More than 500 girls and boys spring sports championships in about 18 sports and involving about three million student-athletes.
Along with multiple classes for both boys and girls in track and field, other sports affected this spring were baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf, tennis, soccer, flag football, boys volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, gymnastics, riflery, judo, Unified track and field and ultimate Frisbee. Also grounded were perhaps another million participants in band, choir, orchestra, speech, debate, robotics and other activity programs.
And last, but far from least, we remember the thousands of volunteers who make these events happen every year – ticket-takers, concession stand workers, booster club parents, meet officials and the leaders in communities throughout the country where these events were planned.
We thank these individuals for their faithful service year after year, and we look forward to the day we are all back together again.
For its exemplary record of leadership, service, and activities that serve to improve the school and community, the Durango High School student council has been recognized as a 2020 National Gold Council of Excellence by National Association of Student Councils (NatStuCo).
“Receiving a National Gold Council of Excellence Award reflects the highest dedication on the part of the school to providing a strong, well-rounded student council program,” said Nara Lee, National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Director of Student Leadership. “NatStuCo applauds the work of the National Gold Councils of Excellence and challenges them to continue their leadership and service to their schools and communities.”
The 2020 Gold Council of Excellence was earned by 261 high schools nationwide and 16 high schools in Colorado. More importantly, Durango was also 1 of 13 schools in the country to be recognized for a Decade of Excellence award. This honor is bestowed on councils who have received a NatStuCo Council of Excellence award for at least 10 years.
“It’s a huge honor receiving this award and means so much more hitting 10 years of recognition,” said Miles Bronson, Durango’s co-student body president.
Added Kaylan Wait, Durango’s DHS co-student body president: “This award helps recognize all of the countless hours spent by student council members in their efforts to promote the welcoming environment of our school, and we are incredibly proud to be a recipient!”
Wait also thanked the StuCo parents and Durango community for their ongoing and continual support of DHS Student Council.
“We would also like to thank our parents and community members for their constant support and encouragement of our program,” Wait said.
Durango student body secretary treasurer Laura Clark expressed how this award has helped her grow as a leader.
“I can’t express the extent to which this program has influenced my growth and success in high school,” Clark said. “By following the guidelines for recognition of this award, our student council class and myself personally have become better leaders and hopefully impacted many lives throughout our school and larger community. Leaving DHS, I could not be more proud to say that I am an alum of both Durango High School and the student council program.”
Finally, Durango student body vice president Lilah Hwang offered thoughts on how receiving this award motivates her.
“Receiving this award makes me all the more proud to be a part of this council and family,” Hwang said. “To be able to show the community and other councils around the state all of our hard work is not only an amazing accomplishment but a motivation to continue to strive to be better than the year before.”
To meet the requirements for the National Council of Excellence Award, a student council must meet a variety of criteria. In addition to basic requirements such as a written constitution, regular meetings, a democratic election process, the councils have demonstrated successful sponsorship and participation in activities such as leadership development and service to the school and community.
Councils awarded the gold level of the award have successfully demonstrated the highest levels of leadership.
For more information on the Durango HS Student Leadership program, contact DHS Leadership advisor Dale Garland (dgarland@durangoschools.org) or the Durango High School Athletics/Activities office.
