Articles

To:         All OHSAA Member Schools’ Superintendents, Principals and Athletic Administrators

From:    Jerry Snodgrass, Executive Director

 

Good afternoon to each of you.  This communication is intended to keep you in the loop with the continually changing events affecting school activities.   Please note this communication has been shared with our District Athletic Boards and our schools well in advance of it being shared with the media.  It is my intent to make sure our members receive all important information directly instead of reading it on social media or in a newspaper.  The media WILL receive a version of this but not until much later.

 

We will continue to monitor the status of spring seasons as well as summer facility availability as it relates to expiration of any Pupil Activity Coaching Permits and provide guidance if closures occur through the summer months.

 

Last year, we made these available online to permit easier access and the ability to tailor them to your recipients by printing names on them, etc.  These annual certificates are now available on each school's myOHSAA account. The links to the award certificates can be found in the left navigation near the bottom under OHSAA Awards.  Please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] if you need any assistance.

 

After much discussion and since elections for District Athletic Board members are all electronic (as well as petitions that are required to be submitted), we will go forward with the normal process.  While nominating petitions are scheduled to be available beginning next week, detailed information will be provided to you prior to that time.

 

A reminder from previous guidance last week that the GPA requirement is not an OHSAA mandate (many are not aware of that).While law mandates you have one, it is not used for eligibility or ineligibility in our office (violating a school’s GPA requirement does not result in forfeiture of a contest).Therefore, if you are utilizing Pass/Fail options for your students, you need not worry how that affects fall 2020 eligibility.

The NFHS continues conversation with the NCAA relative to student-athlete fall semester eligibility.The NFHS expects decisions from the NCAA very soon relative to Div. I and Div. II to follow soon after as it relates to Pass/Fail grades and GPA requirements at the NCAA level.It has been asked that they have a link to easy access for news, updates and FAQ’s and the NCAA has assured this will occur.We will share that as soon as we are provided it. Since the NCAA and NFHS share the same office building in Indianapolis, the dialogue in communication continues efficiently. Much of their info can be found at:ncaa.org/COVID-19

 

First, we continue to stay in close contact with the state’s leadership relative to stay-at-home orders. Additionally, we continue to collaborate with the OASSA to make certain we have each other’s support as it relates to a return to school and activities.A few important updates/reminders:

 

 

* Sectional competition shall NOT begin earlier than the date provided.

 

* Sectional competition shall NOT begin earlier than the date provided.

 

 

* Sectional competition shall NOT begin earlier than the date provided.

 

 

 

We continue to applaud each of you for helping provide guidance and leadership to your coaches and your efforts to keep students engaged.  This crisis has heightened the awareness that students WANT to be back in the classroom.  Teachers want students back in the classroom.  In our solid belief that school-based athletic programs are an extension of the classroom, we hold that same belief for our student-athletes and coaches.  Getting kids back with coaches is much “more than winning” and we feel it a vital part of returning life to normalcy.  Thank you for your support!