OHSAA Board of Directors Meeting Highlights

October 24, 2019

NEWS RELEASE – Ohio High School Athletic Association

Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass

www.OHSAA.org | twitter.com/OHSAASports | facebook.com/OHSAAsports

For Immediate Release – October 24, 2019

OHSAA Contact – Tim Stried, Director of Communications, [email protected]

OHSAA Board of Directors Meeting Highlights

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled October meeting Thursday morning at the OHSAA office. The following are highlights from the meeting. Complete meeting minutes will be posted at OHSAA.org.

By an 8-0 vote, the Board approved a proposal from the Ohio Association of Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches to move the start date for track and field practice for the 2020 season to February 24, 2020, which coincides with the practice start date of softball, baseball and lacrosse.
By an 8-0 vote, the Board denied a proposal from the Ohio Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association that asked for their 10 days of summer coaching to be used up until January 31, instead of the current period from June 1 through July 31. The proposal was not to add any coaching days, but to have the time frame for using those 10 days extended from June 1 through January 31 (except for the month of August, which is a no-contact month for softball).
By an 8-0 vote, the Board approved two recommendations in ice hockey that now require all players to have neck guards and that coaches must wear helmets when they are coaching on the ice.
The Board reviewed the list of recent infractions by OHSAA member schools. Since the Board’s last meeting, 27 schools were penalized for violations of OHSAA bylaws or sports regulations. The list of infractions will be included in the complete Board meeting minutes posted at OHSAA.org.
The Board approved the 2020 divisional breakdowns and tournament representation for softball and baseball, which includes competitive balance information. Last season, there were 749 schools that entered the softball tournament and 763 schools that entered the baseball tournament. The updated breakdowns will be posted at: https://www.ohsaa.org/School-Resources/Divisional-Breakdowns-2019-20-School-Year
The Board approved the tournament regulations for the winter sports of basketball, bowling, gymnastics, swimming & diving and wrestling. The ice hockey tournament regulations will be approved at a later date.