VAIL – The Colorado High School Activities Association hosted its annual Board of Directors retreat this past Thursday through Saturday. The meeting was an opportunity for the CHSAA staff to provide updates to the Board and for the group to discuss strategic priorities for the upcoming year.
Throughout the conversation, the consensus was that CHSAA will put focus on determining classification methods, transfer policies and the recruitment and retainment of officials this next year.
Classification has been a hot topic and will continue to be into the 2024-25 academic year. The Classification and League Organizing Committee (CLOC) task force was put together last year to begin working on better understanding and exploring options for how to best determine league classification structures. Since enrollment is currently the primary driving factor for which classification a school and/or program is placed in Colorado, the task force has looked at what other states do and has tried to define what success and/or lack of success means in relation to classification structured. The task force will continue to explore options as it works to provide recommendations for a classification structure for CHSAA membership.
With more-and-more conversation happening around the possibility of one free transfer for students, a task force has been assembled to beginning looking at and gathering data around transfer options (not just one free transfer). The group will cull date on various transfer types, the number of transfer requests received and more, all while trying to gain a better understanding of what the transfer landscape looks like in Colorado.
Lastly, while the You Look Good in Stripes Campaign helped attract more officials to Colorado, the state is still facing a shortage of officials and needs to work on ensuring there’s accountability for the actions of current officials. To help identify troublesome areas with officiating and/or to better understand issues faced within the officiating landscape, CHSAA will look to create a Game Official Growth and Accountability Portal (“GAP” Portal). The goal would be that CHSAA would be able to address recurring issues and provide learning opportunities in order to grow and retain officials.
Additional updates from the CHSAA staff include:
- Special Olympics Liaison: With the rapid growth of Unified sports in Colorado, CHSAA is looking toward the future and trying to become more aligned with Special Olympics Colorado. The idea is to start by having a Special Olympics staff member work directly out of the CHSAA office at least once a week, beginning as early as this fall, to help align the two organizations. The goal would be that by providing a more direct tie to the CHSAA staff, that more support would be able to be given to Colorado students with disabilities.
- AD Mentorship Program: CHSAA recognizes that there continues to be high turnover in the Athletic Director role and that this constant change is impacting school communities and administrative teams at the school level. This new mentorship program targets new Athletic Directors and would work on pairing them with a retired athletic director who can provide one-on-one mentorship and networking opportunities, all while helping them through their first years as an AD.
- Building Relocation: CHSAA is currently housed in an aging building, and as costs for maintenance continue to rise, CHSAA is looking at its options for where it wants to be in the next five, 10 or 15 years. The current office is in the middle of a fast-growing residential area and is on the verge of being outgrown by staff. The building itself also has major systems (i.e. – HVAC) that need to be upgraded.
- Small/Rural School Forum: CHSAA wants to have a better understanding of the unique needs of small and rural schools across the state. In order to hear directly from these schools, CHSAA is looking to host a couple of forums where administrators can get together and talk about challenges and what’s on their radars.
As always, member schools are encouraged to discuss ideas with your Board of Directors representatives so they can bring thoughts and ideas forward at the next Board meeting on Oct. 4.