The TSSAA legislative council met Wednesday at the group’s headquarters in Hermitage and, among other things, voted not to move softball from the spring semester to the fall semester.
Election of Officers Dan Black was elected to continue to serve as President of Legislative Council Mike Reynolds was elected to continue to serve as Vice President of the Legislative Council
2017 Regional Meetings:
a.
Denied proposed Change to Article IV, Section 8 (TSSAA Sports Calendar) of the TSSAA Bylaws:
This proposal is to move the sport of girls’ softball to the fall semester.
Submitted by Columbia Central High School
b. Denied proposed Addition to Article II, Section 11 (Transfer Student Definition) of the TSSAA Bylaws:
This proposal is to amend the current rule regarding the eligibility of a student that transfers from one school to another without a change of address as it pertains to a student’s participation on a co-op team.
Submitted by McEwen High School
c. Voted to table proposed change to Article I, Section 3 (Membership) of the TSSAA Bylaws until the March meeting.
This proposal would change Section 3 to read:
For tournament competition there shall be two categories. Division I shall be schools whose student-athletes do not receive need-based financial aid. Division II shall be those independent schools whose student-athletes may be the recipients of need-based financial aid. Any independent school with a financial assistance program involving tuition-paying student-athletes and/or their immediate family must be classified as a Division II school.
Submitted by Jackson Christian School
d. Voted to table proposed addition to Article III, Section 10 (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) of the TSSAA/TMSAA Bylaws until March and ask the staff to rewrite it and send to member schools.
If a fan is ejected from an athletic contest, the school will be given a choice of removing the fan for a minimum of the next two contests or fined $500.00 and face further disciplinary action.
If a fan is ejected from an athletic contest, and the fan is a relative of a student-athlete participating in the contest, the school will be given a choice of removing the student-athlete and the fan for a minimum of the next two contests or fined $500 and face further disciplinary action.
Submitted by the TSSAA staff
e. Approved proposed change to Article IV, Section 8 (TSSAA Sports Calendar) of the TSSAA Bylaws:
The amendment will address the current calendar guidelines for wrestling and girls’ wrestling. The amendment seeks to change the maximum number of regular season contests from 18 dates to 22 dates which would move it closer to the current guidelines for basketball (24). There will not be a change to the second part of the guideline that states an individual shall wrestle no more than 55 matches, excluding forfeits, in the regular season.
Submitted by Alcoa High School
5. New Business
a. Approved proposed changes to Article II, Section 18 (Amateur Rule) and Sections 19 and 20 (Award Rule)
Section 18. A student who has never used and is not using his/her knowledge of athletics or his/her athletic skill for pay in the sports which this Association governs and who has always contested under his/her own name is an amateur. (Accepting money for officiating athletic contests or for working as an employee in a city or county recreation program is not a violation of this regulation.) A student who violates the amateur rule shall be ineligible for 12 months in the sport in which the violation occurs. Such a student may be reinstated as an amateur after a period of one calendar year from the time he/she was declared ineligible has elapsed, provided he/she has not violated the amateur rule during this period. Bowling, golf and tennis students will abide by USBC, USGA, and USTA regulations in accepting pay, items of commercial value, and awards.
Section 19. A student may accept a medal, trophy, state championship ring, high school letter, sweater, jacket, shirt, blazer or blanket but nothing else of commercial value. (A sweater, jacket, shirt, blazer or blanket must carry the high school letter or other appropriate award emblem.) Acceptance of forbidden awards will cause a student to become ineligible for 12 months in the sport in which the violation
occurs. Bowling, golf and tennis students will abide by USBC, USGA, and USTA regulations in accepting awards.
Section 20. A member school that has any connection with the presentation of a forbidden award — such as assisting in the selection of the person to receive the award, permitting the award to be given at a school function, or holding the award for a student until he/she has graduated — shall be subject to suspension from tournament play in the involved sport(s) for one season.
b. Voted to place the proposed change to Article II, Section 21 (Independent Game Participation) on the 2018-2019 Regional Meeting Agenda.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)