News Release – Ohio High School Athletic Association
Commissioner Daniel B. Ross, Ph.D.
Interim Commissioner Dave Gray
For Immediate Release – November 3, 2016
OHSAA’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee Honors 16 Schools
Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy earns highest level Commissioner’s Award
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity (SEI) Committee has announced that 16 member schools have received sportsmanship awards for the 2015-16 academic year. All 16 schools met the ‘Respect the Game Challenge,’ while five of those schools also earned the Harold A. Meyer Award, and one school, Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy, earned the Commissioner's Award, which is the highest award given.
The list of recipients was accepted by the OHSAA Board of Directors at its regularly scheduled October board meeting. This is the sixth year that the OHSAA’s revised three-tiered process for the Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity school awards has been implemented.
“We are very proud of these 16 schools for making sportsmanship a priority,” said Dave Gray, OHSAA Interim Commissioner. “We have so many schools in Ohio that show great sportsmanship, so we hope that more schools finish completing the program in the future. And our congratulations to Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy for achieving the Commissioner’s Award. They are a leader among our member schools.”
In order to meet the ‘Respect the Game Challenge,’ schools must complete a comprehensive checklist that confirms the various sportsmanship, ethics and integrity programs within their school. Besides developing a well-planned, educational program on sportsmanship, the form reminds schools to develop a comprehensive student-athlete campaign; a coaches campaign; a student body, student support group, parents and fan campaign; and a public address announcers campaign. Schools receive a “Respect The Game” banner that can be displayed in a prominent area of the school. Repeat winners receive the numerals corresponding to the year(s) the award has been earned.
Meeting the ‘Respect The Game Challenge’ is the precursor to being considered for the Harold A. Meyer Award. That award, named in honor of the late OHSAA commissioner from 1969 to 1977, is presented to schools that demonstrate via a PowerPoint presentation they have completed an eight-part program that promotes sportsmanship, ethics and integrity in their schools and communities.
Schools that meet the Respect the Game Challenge and receive the Harold A. Meyer Award can pursue the highest award, which is the Commissioner’s Award. Schools must not have had any coaches or athletes ejected during the previous school year, and tournament managers, league commissioners, contests officials and rival school administrators were asked to verify positive sporting behavior of the potential winning school. Finally, a student from the school must submit an essay describing their school’s sportsmanship, ethics and integrity program or a unique element of the program.
2015-16 Commissioner's Award, Harold A. Meyer and Respect the Game Challenge Recipients
Saint Ursula Academy (Cincinnati)
2015-16 Harold A. Meyer Award and Respect the Game Challenge Recipients
Bishop Watterson High School (Columbus)
John Sells Middle School (Dublin)
Ross High School (Hamilton)
Teays Valley East Middle School (Ashville)
2015-16 Respect the Game Challenge Recipients
Clermont Northeastern High School (Batavia)
Fairland High School (Proctorville)
Johnstown-Monroe High School
Mariemont High School (Cincinnati)
Norwood High School
Open Door Christian Schools (Elyria)
Seton High School (Cincinnati)
Steele High School (Amherst)
Sycamore High School (Cincinnati)
Vermilion High School
Washington High School (Washington Court House)
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