TMSAA MINUTES

November 15, 2006

 

The Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association held its first meeting of the school year on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at the TSSAA office in Hermitage.  Members present were Vic King, Robert Cole, Chic Nute, Michael Carter, and Tony Spears.

 

The committee welcomed its newest member, Tony Spears of Science Hill, who replaced Mike Fulkerson.  Mike has accepted the Assistant Principal position at Dobyns Bennett High School.  Don Freudenthal, Principal of Ezell-Harding Middle School, will be asked to represent the Middle Tennessee area on the committee.

 

Committee members were given an updated list of TMSAA member schools and the Areas they have been assigned.  Thirteen new schools have filed for membership this year.  The committee decided on the appropriate Area for each new school.  To date, we have 295 member schools in the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association.

 

In our previous meeting, the committee looked at the TMSAA Sports Calendar.  The discussion centered around the number of contests allowed in each sport, date of first practice, off-season practice, dead period, weight lifting and conditioning, open facilities, and summer practice.  High schools are considering a proposal to change their calendar and the committee wanted to model their concept as much as possible.  After much discussion, the committee decided to place this item on the agenda for the next meeting.  Each member wanted to give the Legislative Council an opportunity to make a decision on the TSSAA Sports Calendar.  At that point, adjustments in the middle school calendar will be made, if necessary.

 

The committee revisited the issue concerning the number of games being played on school nights during post season tournament play in basketball.  High school regulations now state that there can be no more than two games played at any one site (Monday through Thursday) during post season tournaments.  Middle school administrators have expressed concerns that we are playing too many games during school nights.  After discussing this situation, members of the committee voted to recommend that all Area and Sections play only three games per night at one site during the tournament series beginning in 2007-08.  The length of each quarter in middle school is shorter and the games do not last as long.

 

Norwood Middle School submitted a request to move from Area 2 (East) to Area 4 (East).  The request stated that it would be better for the school financially to play the schools in Area 4.  Also, by moving to Area 4, the student athletes would be able to get home sooner after visiting other member schools.  The school sits on the border of Areas 2 and 4.  Committee members voted to move Norwood Middle School to Area 4 (East) as requested by the administration.

 

Committee members were asked to discuss the Independent Game Participation Rule as it pertains to middle school athletes.  Currently, the rule is the same for middle and high school athletes.  The rule states the following:

 

Once a student's name is listed on the school eligibility report, if a student participates in an independent game in that sport before the season has closed or his/her name has been removed from the eligibility report at the request of the school principal, the student shall be ineligible as explained below.

 

Any organized game in which players not registered with TSSAA participate – regardless of whether admission is charged - is considered as an independent game. Violation of this rule will render the student ineligible for 25% of the number of contests allowed in that sport by the sports calendar or for the remainder of the season in that sport, whichever number is the least. Violation of this rule a second time in the same sport in the same season will render the student ineligible in that sport for the remainder of the season.

 

A student's name may be removed from the school's eligibility list upon written request of the principal. After such a request has been filed with the state office, a student may then participate as an independent without penalty. If a principal requests the state office to remove a student's name from the school's eligibility list, such student may not again be certified during the season of that sport.

 

This rule does not apply to bowling, golf, and tennis.

 

After much discussion, the committee voted to leave the rule as it is currently written.  Ninety-nine percent of our middle school administrators wanted to keep the rule as a part of the TSSAA Bylaws.

 

The committee considered a proposal submitted by Oakdale School and supported by four other schools in East Tennessee to realign all of East Tennessee.  After discussing this issue, the committee decided that allowing each Section (West, Middle, and East) of the state to set their own alignment is working.  The decision was made to continue the tournament series in their present format.  The committee will continue to look at this and make changes when deemed necessary.