The CHSAA Legislative Council met virtually for the first time in its 99-year history on Friday.

They voted on more than 50 items, and made a number of changes to the Association’s bylaws, which impacted things from alignment to the transfer rule. We have rounded up most of those changes here.

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Two classes of hockey

(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

Hockey will split into two classifications, beginning with the 2020-21 season.

The two-class split, which was recommended by the hockey committee during its meeting in February, places 20 teams into Class 5A, and 17 in 4A. The committee used a variety of factors to place teams from bylaw 1500.21, including enrollment, geography, competitive history, competitive balance, participation rate, and the entry or selection process that places an athlete at a program.

The committee recognized the need for two classes because there isn’t much, if any, parity in the sport. Over the past four years, only 14 different schools have advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Hockey currently has 37 teams.

The alignments for the sport can be found in this story from February.

Hockey will use the CHSAA Seeding Index to seed its two state tournaments: RPI, MaxPreps, and the CHSAANow coaches poll.

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New seeding criteria for 5A basketball

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

An amendment during the meeting changed the seeding criteria that 4A and 5A basketball will use for their state tournaments: The two classes will now use a combination of the RPI standings, MaxPreps rankings and the CHSAANow coaches pool — bringing them in line with what a number of other sports are now using.

1A will also use the same criteria, but will also use the Packard Ratings.

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2A baseball changes postseason

(Lisa Hayes/StillOfTheMomentPhotography.com)

The 2A baseball postseason will now mirror what is done in 3A, 4A and 5A, with a 32-team regional bracket. All teams will qualify for the bracket via the RPI standings, and seeded by RPI. The top eight seeds will host regionals, and seeds Nos. 20-32 can be moved for geographic reasons.

The state tournament also got an overhaul, and will move to an eight-team single-elimination bracket. Previously, 2A had a 16-team bracket.

With this change, 2A schools can now schedule 23 games.

Baseball also created a game minimum to be able to qualify for the postseason: 12 games in 1A, 17 in 2A and 3A, 19 in 4A and 5A.

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New field hockey tournament

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

In an effort to help the growth of the sport, the state field hockey tournament will expand from eight teams to 12.

The top six seeds will receive a bye while the next six will compete in a play-in bracket.

In one of those brackets, No. 9 and No. 12 will play, with the winner playing No. 8. The winner of that game will face No. 1.

In the other bracket, No. 10 and No. 11 will play, with the winner facing No. 7. The winner of that game will face the No. 2 overall seed.

During that same round, the No. 4 and No. 5 seed will play, with No. 3 and No. 6 also playing.

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The transfer rule

A number of proposals involved the transfer rule. Among the changes which passed:

• An adjustment to clarify that a student doesn’t have to transfer from a member school, in or out of state, in order for the rule to apply.
• A proposal better explained the transfer consequence for transferring to another school, and a return to the original school — also known as an A-B-A transfer. Specifically, a student who transfers from School A, transfers to School B and plays at School B, and the returns to School A, will only be eligible for sub-varsity competition at School A in the sports they participated in at School B for 365 days.
• A new bylaw passed allowing for students to participate with “restricted varsity eligibility during the regular season” if their high school does not offer a JV team, or if their school doesn’t allow seniors to play on sub-varsity teams.
• The definition of a hardship was rewritten to read: “‘Hardship’ means a situation, condition or event which must impost a severe non-athletic burden upon the student or his/her family and require a transfer of schools. This does not include the personal or initial choice of enrollment and/or participation.”

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Notables:

• The alignments for sports were finalized with the approval of each sports report. Those new alignments will be posted in the near future.
• The season of sport was changed in boys swimming, allowing for those championships to be moved up a week and have their own spotlight.
• 6-man and 8-man football will use the same four data points of seeding that was used in 1A-5A this season.
• In 5A football, all playoff games will be hosted by the higher seed.
• 1A girls volleyball will move from districts to regionals. The sport will also require that all teams play a minimum of 18 matches against member schools and varsity opponents in order to qualify for the postseason.
• Boys volleyball will have one classification during its inaugural season in spring 2021.
• Girls wrestling will use the same weight classes that were used in the pilot season.
• The 4A and 5A boys lacrosse state tournaments will each grow from 16 to 24 teams starting in spring 2021.
• The new format that will be used for a two-classification setup in girls lacrosse was approved. Find the structure for that format here.
• 2A soccer will increase its state tournament field from 12 teams to 16.
• The regional field in 3A softball will grow to 32 teams, bringing it in line with 4A and 5A.
• The requirements for qualifying for the state skiing championships were made more strict, to make the state field slightly smaller.
• The state spirit championships will move to a three-day format beginning this year. Schools will only be able to participate in one cheer category and one dance category at the state championships. Cheer and dance are now considered separate sports.
• Schools will be eligible to join CHSAA as activity-only schools, and not offer sports.
• The process for classifying programs was clarified with an amendment to bylaw 1510, which deals with the Classification, Appeals and League Organizing Committee (CLOC). Now, the CHSAA staff can offer adjustments “in extraordinary circumstances” that are based upon bylaw 1500.21 (the bylaw allowing for classification based upon factors other than enrollment) in even years. These adjustments will need to be voted on by CLOC. Typically in even years, the classifications are already set and ready to go for the following cycle, so there would be very few adjustments, if any.
• The amateur status bylaw was reworked, and now reads that student-athletes “must maintain his/her amateur status” and notes that they “may not sign a professional athletic contract.” A new note defines a professional as “being paid in any form for playing in an athletic contest, or if you sign a contract or verbally commit with an agent or professional sports organization.” Notably, student-athletes will be allowed to play with or against professionals in certain situations, such as in the Olympics or a World Cup.
• The coach ejection bylaw was updated to give it a more consistent level of suspension across all sports. Now, the first ejection is penalized by a suspension equal to 10% of that sports season, and a second ejection is 20%.
• All-Star games were added to bylaw 2300, allowing for “up to two All-Star Games after the completion of the state championship in that sport.” No all-star games are permitted in football.
• Middle schoolers from “feeder” schools will be permitted to practice with high school teams in volleyball, basketball, soccer and football “when they cannot field enough high school athletes to hold an intra-squad practice in game-type conditions.” There are a number of limitations guiding this new bylaw.
• The number of practices required for students to participate in prior to competition in contact sports was reduced from five to three in all sports but football, which will still require nine.
• Schools can now form a team with only one participant, if they choose to.
• Adding a new sport or activity will now require approval from the Budget Committee in addition to CLOC, Sports Medicine, Equity and the Board of Directors.
• The full membership of the following schools is now official: DSST – Byers, KIPP Northeast, Loveland Classical, Strive Prep – Rise, Strive Prep – Smart, and Thomas MacLaren. KIPP Northeast and Strive Prep – Rise play together are a co-op: Regis Groff.
• Officials’ fees increased with a 2% cost of living adjustment across the board, for all levels.
• The alignment of State Festival and State Tournament will now be permanent in speech.
• Student Leadership’s fall conference will move to a regional model beginning this year.

(Photo courtesy of David Robinson/Montezuma-Cortez)

For the last two years, Ivan Mack has been an integral part of the football and track and field teams at Montezuma-Cortez High School.

Now he’s getting the chance to lead one of them.

Mack has been named as the new football coach for the Panthers. Montezuma-Cortez athletic director confirmed the hire to CHSAANow.com via email.

A 1999 graduate of Mountain View High School, Mack attended Montezuma-Cortez for two of his four high school years. He was a three-sport athlete, participating in football, basketball and track. He played football at Mesa Community College (Ariz.) before transferring to BYU.

His philosophy will integrate the mantra “begin with the end in mind.”

His focus as a high school coach is focusing on the development of character and self-improvement in each individual athlete.

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:

(CHSAA archives)

(Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos)

Loveland senior Laurin Krings was honored by Gatorade on Thursday when the company named her Colorado’s top softball player.

It is the second consecutive season Krings has won the award. She becomes just the fourth player to win it twice, after Rainey Gaffin (2011-12) and Shelby Babcock (2009-10) of Legacy, and Mallory Duran of Windsor (2008-09).

This is Loveland’s fourth time with a Gatorade winner. Three have come in softball.

Krings helped Loveland go 24-4 last fall and reach the Class 5A quarterfinals. She was 24-4 with a 0.59 ERA, and had 339 strikeouts against 21 walks in 167 innings. She was a first-team all-state pick in 5A.

Krings, who has signed with Missouri, has a 3.48 GPA.

Jeffco Stadium and North Area Athletic Complex turned on its lights last week to recognize the Colorado High Schools Activities Association’s state track meet and honor the Class of 2020 and student-athletes across the state.

Jeffco Stadium would have hosted all-classifications of the state track meet May 21-23. NAAC’s soccer and football fields would have hosted girls soccer, along with boys and girls lacrosse games this spring.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

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.

(Photo courtesy of Erik Melgoza/Alamosa Athletics)

Lilly and Emily Lavier have spent a lot of time competing together. As kids, they battled each other and as they got into high school it was battling side by side.

Lilly always thought herself a runner first but also loved to play basketball. Emily thought differently. Basketball was her main sport and running turned out to be secondary. But it was important that each one was doing both. They’ve shared several athletic moments together, among those is winning two 4×400 relay championships at the state track meet and sharing the basketball court together when Emily set the state’s single-game 3-point record.

While Emily will return to Alamosa as a senior next year, Lilly has graduated and will run at Oklahoma State University. Being a multi-sport athlete played a big role in that and it’s a lesson that has trickled down to Emily and even beyond.

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(Photo courtesy of Lilly Lavier)

Question: How have you gotten to the point in your life where playing multiple sports became essential to you?

Lilly: I always thought it was essential. I think for me running is more my thing and so it was always really nice for me to have a break from that. That break for me was basketball and so it was always nice to be able to still be getting fit in a different way and move some different muscles and I really think it helps the body overall.

And I think it helps with injury prevention. You’re getting to use different parts of your body for different things and I really think it helps to be taking a break from doing one repetitive motion and running to be able to do some different ones in basketball. I think it’s helped a lot.

Q: It’s not exactly like you’re taking a break because you’re still playing basketball at such a high level. How important is it to you when you’re not focusing on running and you’re focusing on basketball to make sure that you’re competing at the absolute highest level you can?

Lilly: It’s very important to me and I do kind of see it as a break for myself just in the sense that it’s a whole other world. Even if it’s mentally being able to take a break and move to something so different. It’s something that I really enjoyed over the past few years.

Q: Both sports have their own set of skills, but how much do you find yourself focusing on each skill set?

Lilly: I’ve graduated now and so now I haven’t been doing any work with basketball. I’ll probably be done with that because I’m mostly just going to be running from here on out. However, in high school there were lots of times where Emily and I would both go to the gym or go to our backyard on the weekend and we’d just shoot and kind of work on the things we needed to work on. We definitely took it seriously in the offseason and would do our part to try to get better.

But for myself, from here on out, it’s not really as essential as it was in high school just because I’m moving onto the next chapter, which for me is running. But it was always important to get in that work during the offseason for us.

Q: How much did it appeal to Oklahoma State that you were a multi-sport athlete?

Lilly: That was one of the things that my coach directed at me that he really liked. And that was one thing I really appreciated from him was that one of the first things he said on my home visit was how much he appreciated and knew how much it helps that I was a multi-sport athlete.

That’s something he really liked and he thinks that’s something that made me special and unique and that’s something I really appreciated and liked that he saw.

That absolutely was very important to me and it drove me to kind of help him make the decision I made.

Q: As a big sister, was it a big deal for you to make sure Emily was involved in multiple sports?

Lilly: Absolutely. I actually have another sister younger than Emily. She’s going to be a sophomore. For both of them it was very important to make sure that you’re staying fit year-round. An easy way to do that is just be keeping yourself in sports in every season and just keeping busy.

It was easier for me to get Emily to do some other sports like cross country in the fall than it was our other sister. That’s one thing that both of us kind of worked on with her, but it was essential to have her doing multiple sports and just staying fit.

It kind of gets you ready to transition from one season to the other.

Q: Emily, did you feel like playing multiple sports was something you had to do watching Lilly both do it and excel in it?

Emily: Oh yeah, 100 percent. I just remember when we were little and like growing up, I’d be like here in the house and Lilly would be outside and she’d like pull me outside and we go, all of our siblings, we go outside and we’d be active whether it’s like playing soccer, playing basketball, just like finding something to do. And then once she got to middle school and I saw her doing multiple sports and excelling, it definitely like inspired me to want to do that too.

Q: How much has that pushed you to try and be the best you can be at everything, whether it’s running or basketball?

Emily: A lot. Growing up, I’d always hear, “You’re Lilly’s sister.” She’s an all-star runner. I want people to know my name too and that just like pushed me to work hard and try to be the best that I can be and also excel at what I do just like she did.

Q: What are the benefits that you’re finding in being a multi-sport athlete?

Emily: I think a lot of it is like how she said like transitioning from one sport to the other. A big reason that I do cross country is to get me in shape for basketball, which is kind of my main sport.

If it wasn’t for her, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten into cross country. But I’m glad I did because that transition from running all fall in cross country to running in basketball, it definitely keeps me in shape and it helps me out a lot with that. And then basketball keeps me in shape for track the next season.

So it’s definitely beneficial, playing all these sports.

Q: How much fun is it to be able to share the basketball court with your sister and then also be able to stand on a championship podium with her at track?

Emily: It’s so much fun. That was probably one of my favorite memories, honestly from high school is getting to do it not once, but twice. I definitely think it’s something special that not a lot of people can say they got to do.

It’s also special because I’m the one handing off the baton to her going into the final lap — the anchor leg. So I think for me that was always something that stood out. Those 4×400 championships; I just thought that was super special.

Q: How many assists did Lilly give to you on the night that you said the 3-point record?

Emily: She actually had 11 of 12 assists, almost all of them.

(Photo courtesy of Erik Melgoza/Alamosa Athletics)

Q: Wow, how much fun was that? Your name’s in that record book, but you and your teammates know that your sister had a big hand in helping you there.

Lilly: It’s actually kind of a funny story. We were actually scrolling through the CHSAA page on Instagram the night before that game. And I said, “Oh look, these girls had a new 3-point record,” and it was 11, I told her “Oh, you can definitely do that.” I thought she could get 12 or 13.

So the night before I told her she should try it, really just kind of making fun of her to get her to take a shot at it and then sure enough, it happened. I would look at her and just kept throwing her the ball and they just kept going in.

Emily: So, it was kind of a funny story just for the two of us to know that it was possible. A lot of people like to say that we planned that out, but I don’t think we really did. We just knew it was in the realm of possibilities.

And then she kept making fun of me during the game: “You’re at six, you’re at seven now.”

Lilly: It was just a joke because the night before we were joking about it and we share a room. Before we went to bed, before the game, I was just poking fun at her. And sure enough, she went out and was having a heck of a game and I was just keeping track.

At halftime, I told her, “You’re halfway there, you might as well just go for it.” So it’s just kind of a fun backstory for both of us to know that and then to know that it happened.

Q: How much of an example do you think underclassmen, need to see in watching you girls be multi-sport athletes and see the benefits pay off, whether it’s a scholarship to Oklahoma State or a state record for 3-pointers?

Lilly: I think it’s very important and I feel like both of us have taken a good deal of responsibility for setting an example for people below us. Speaking for myself, I knew that was always a goal. I wanted to leave a good impression on the high school and for the younger girls to kind of see that you don’t have to be going to this big school in Denver to do some pretty amazing and special things.

And I think Emily’s done a really good job at following that and kind of getting that same attitude because I wanted to make Alamosa a place where people felt proud to be going to school. I want people people to look at it and say, “Oh my gosh, there’s Alamosa, they have this (certain) reputation.”

We have a lot of good girls coming up and who are already at the high school who very capable of doing things like that. Having us to show people that it’s okay to be able to have big goals and go for it and set records and do things like that and to kind of even inspire people to do that, is very important. I think we’ve both done a good job at showing people that.

Emily: It’s important to me to have a good relationship with like the underclassmen and just like make sure that you’re talking to them. Whether it’s in practice or on game day or at meets or whatever it is, including them in everything and just like being a role model for them to look up to.

It inspires me to want to do my best so that maybe I can be someone to them that they look up to so they can also do great things.

(Courtesy of Limon HS)

Kory Tacha has had an outstanding high school athletic career. His junior year alone would make for a notable career for any athlete throughout the state.

He helped Limon claim the Class 1A football title before helping the Badgers made a deep playoff run in the 2A state basketball tournament.

He was named the 1A football Player of the Year and made second-team All-State in basketball, making him one of the premiere student-athletes regardless of classification. But there are challenges that come with reaching such heights in multiple sports.

Tacha is more than willing to acknowledge those challenges and tackle them on a daily basis. He spent some time chatting with CHSAANow.com on what it means to him to be a multi-sport athlete and why it will make him successful down the road.

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Question: Coming from a smaller school, what’s the biggest appeal for you in being a multi-sport athlete?

Tacha: You don’t really have that many kids. We have about a hundred kids in our high school, so for all our sports programs to be sports programs they need everyone to go out for every sport. That was the main appeal growing up. As soon as I started playing everything, I fell in love with all the sports and it’s just become kind of my lifestyle.

Q: How do you make sure that you’re applying enough time and effort to each sport to play at such a high level in each one?

Tacha: For me, summers are crucial. That’s the only offseason that I really get. So I hit pretty much everything. I do my football workouts in the morning, I do my basketball workouts in the evening, depending on when coach opens the gym. Summers are really where I hit it hard.

But other than that, I try to maintain throughout the school year. Keep lifting and just preparing my body for all the rest of the year.

Q: Everyone always talks about how college coaches like to look for multi-sport athletes, but is there an element that it’s just fun?

Tacha: Of course. Playing everything’s always fun. Sports are great. I couldn’t see myself playing and it not being fun. I probably wouldn’t do it.

Q: With the transition specifically from football and basketball, how tough is it to go from one realm where you’re getting hit and your body’s taking a little bit of a punishment and you don’t really get time off before you go into another physical sport, how have you responded to that over the years?

Tacha: It’s gotten a little easier. It’s still extremely difficult. This year we played football on a Saturday (for the 1A state championship) and we had a scrimmage for basketball the next Tuesday. It was a quick turnaround, but basketball is definitely easier on your body, but harder in the sense you need to be in a different kind of shape. It’s always hard to adjust but it gets easier through the years.

Q: Is it a situation where you have to wait until you’re in basketball season to adjust or is there something you do towards the end of football season where maybe you’re trying to balance things out without sacrificing what you need to do for football?

Tacha: I usually wait until it’s in basketball season. When it’s football season, that’s my main priority and that’s my main focus. And then when it’s basketball season, of course that’s my main priority. It usually takes a couple of games to get into the basketball shape and I have to try not to foul out in those early basketball games.

Q: When you look at athletes, whether it’s, whether it’s at Limon or Kit Carson, maybe a rival school, and you see someone sticking to just one sport, what turns you off about that kind of specialization?

Tacha: Specialization to me … I would get to burned out of that one sport. Practicing for instance, basketball all year round, I don’t know if I could handle that. I would get too burned out. My body would be in a different kind of shape I guess, but that’d be okay if I was just a basketball player.

I think playing all the sports helps me feel well-rounded and gives me more athletic capabilities. My biggest thing would be getting burned out in that one sport.

Q: What don’t people know about being a multi-sport athlete that you think they should know or that you think they’d be surprised to know?

Tacha: I’m always busy. I never really get an offseason. My offseason is spent training for the school year. We just stay really busy.

Q: Do you think doing everything you can to keep up with multiple sports and then also when you add in schoolwork, and I’m sure you have responsibilities or things that you do outside of all that, is going to help you down the road whether it’s transitioning to college or adult life?

Tacha: For sure. The biggest thing I’ve learned with being a multi-sport athlete is I’m learning to manage my time. I leave in the morning at 6 o’clock and then go to school and then practice and I don’t get home until like 7:30 or 8. Then I still have to fit in time for homework and then eating dinner with my family.

Managing time is crucial being a multi-sport athlete and I think I’ve learned to do that very well.

Q: What’s your favorite part about being a multi-sport athlete?

Tacha: I like being busy. I like having different friends from different sport. It’s just good all around.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

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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(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

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 100^th 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 101^stSummer 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 38^th 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.