TMSAA Minutes

November 16, 2005

 

The Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association Committee held its first meeting of the school year on November 16, 2005 at the TSSAA Office in Hermitage.  Members present were Mike Morrison, Chic Nute, Mike Fulkerson, Vic King, Katie O’Brien, Robert Cole and Michael Carter.

 

Committee members welcomed Katie O’Brien, Robert Cole, and Michael Carter to the TMSAA Committee. Robert is currently the Assistant Athletic Director of Memphis City Schools and has been very instrumental in the organization of middle school athletic programs in the city of Memphis. Robert has helped organize and direct many of the West Tennessee TMSAA championships. Katie serves as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at East Ridge Middle School. She is a former coach and has been very involved with athletics at the middle school level in the Hamilton County School System. Norma Beshears and Bob Yancey, both Middle Tennessee representatives, retired from their perspective schools at the end of the school year. Michael Carter, Athletic Director at Cheatham Middle School, has agreed to replace Norma Beshears in upper Middle Tennessee. We will add a committee member in lower Middle Tennessee very soon.

 

The committee continued their discussion on classification and all the ramifications. TMSAA already allows each area of the state (Middle, East, West) to meet and classify schools that participate in their tournament series. Middle and East Tennessee divide their schools into small and large divisions during tournaments. West Tennessee schools play in one class and those schools have expressed interest in dividing into small and large. A sub-committee met on June 15^th at Brighton High School to discuss this possibility. At a later date, all schools in West Tennessee will be notified concerning the changes which will be made in their Area and Sectional Alignment.

 

The committee recommended to change Rule #8 of the TMSAA Bylaws to make it consistent with the TSSAA Bylaws as it pertains to membership and when schools must submit dues each year. The old rule read that membership dues shall be paid in advance and shall be for the calendar year. Membership expires at midnight on December 31^st of each year. The new rule, effective with the 2006-07 school year states the following:

 

♦Rule #8         Membership in the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association       shall be open to any school that terminates with the 7^th or 8^th grade.     Membership dues are $300.00 annually, which includes catastrophic   insurance coverage. Membership contracts shall be submitted by May 15^th    for the next year. Membership dues shall be paid no later than September           1^st and shall be for the school year (July 1st to June 30^th). There shall be a             five dollar ($5.00) per day late fee charged to any school that fails to remit             its membership dues by September 1^st.

 

 

 

♦Rule #9         (Semester Rule) was revised to read as follows:

 

            A student shall have 6 semesters to complete 4 possible semesters    of participation after entering the 7^th grade. Attendance of 40       school             days of any semester shall be regarded as a “semester” under this rule. If        a student participates in athletics during a period of attendance of any             number of days less than 40, he/she shall be charged with a semester       of attendance. No student shall participate in any sport more than three    seasons. Any student who repeats the 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th grade after having             passed that grade shall not be eligible until they have reached the next            higher grade.

 

Committee members revisited the “Independent-Game Participation” rule and decided to leave it as written. The TMSAA Sports Calendar was also a topic of discussion. The committee will look at the entire calendar in February in order to see if any adjustments need to be made.