Bylaw 23 Provisions – Football Practice Regulations

February 15, 2016 Football Blog Updates

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This supersedes any previously published material.

Bylaw 23. Limitation of Seasons
Sec. 6) Sports Specific Limitations- FOOTBALL
a) Organized practice shall be structured in football as follows:
(1) Football drill work and practice activity shall be defined in the following five categories:
a. “Level 0” or “air” means that players run a drill unopposed and without contact;
b. “Level 1” or “bags” means that a drill is run against a bag or another soft contact surface;
c. “Level 2” or “control” means that a drill is run at the assigned speed until the moment of contact; one (1) player is predetermined the winner by the coach; contact remains above the waist; and players stay on their feet;
d. “Level 3” or “thud” means that a drill is run at the assigned speed through the moment of contact; there is not a predetermined winner; contact remains above the waist; players stay on their feet; and a quick whistle ends the drill; and
e. “Level 4” or “live action” means that a drill is run in game-like conditions and is the only time that players are taken to the ground.
(2) Contact and non-contact shall be defined as follows:
a. “Contact” means that drills are run at Level 3, thud, or Level 4, live action; and
b. “Non-contact” means that drills are run at Level 0, air; Level 1, bags; or Level 2, control.
(3) Football contact and non-contact practice shall use the appropriate clothing and equipment (including current certification/recertification of equipment as stipulated by the manufacturer) for the level of drill, including:
a. A drill conducted in helmets-only shall be a Level 0, air, or Level 1, bags;
b. A drill conducted in shells (shorts, shoulder pads, and helmets) shall be a non-contact drill; and
c. A contact drill shall be conducted in full equipment; and
(4) From the end of the season through the day prior to the first day of spring practice; and from the last day after spring practice through May 31:
a. Schools shall not issue football equipment included in NFHS Rule 1-5 other than the helmet (provided only enrolled students are present at the activity) with the exception of an all-star game or individual camp as detailed;
b. Schools shall not organize or participate in any football activities that allow players to be in football gear included in NFHS Rule 1-5 other than the helmet, even if contact does not occur;
c. No session shall be held where attendance is taken;
d. No session shall be held where attendance is implicitly or explicitly required;
e. No session shall be held where other schools or organized teams are present and involved in any activity;
f. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance provided by the Association is not in effect during this period; and
g. Heat index monitoring guidelines shall be complied with during any activity.
(5) From June 1 through June 24:
a. Schools shall not issue football equipment included in NFHS Rule 1-5 other than the helmet, with the exception of an all-star game or individual camp as detailed;
b. Schools shall not organize or participate in any football activities that allow players to be in football gear included in NFHS Rule 1-5 other than the helmet, even if contact does not occur;
c. No session shall be held where attendance is taken;
d. No session shall be held where attendance is implicitly or explicitly required;
e. No session shall be held where other schools or organized teams are present and involved in any activity;
f. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance provided by the Association is not in effect during this period;
g. Heat index monitoring guidelines shall be complied with during any activity; and
h. Activity during this period shall not include Level 2-“Control”, Level 3-”Thud”, or Level 4-”Live Action”);
(6) Non-contact interscholastic simulations during the period beginning on the day immediately following the dead period (Bylaw 24), July 10 and continuing through July 31:
a. Schools may participate in non-contact interscholastic simulations during this period and such participation does not count against scrimmage limitations provided that the first practice in full gear has not been conducted;
b. The school issued helmet may be used during these activities, but no other equipment included in NFHS Rule 1-5 may be used;
c. Activity may be required of team participants including the monitoring of attendance;
d. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance is in effect for these simulations if other schools are involved;
e. Heat index monitoring guidelines shall be complied with during any activity; and
f. Activity through the end of the non-contact simulations shall not include Level 3-”Thud”, or Level 4-”Live Action”.
(7) Preseason acclimation and acclimatization beginning July 10:
a. Heat index monitoring guidelines shall be complied with during any activity;
b. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance is in place for these drills and practice sessions;
c. Beginning July 10, the first legal organized practice wearing a helmet may be conducted;
d. The first five (5) days of organized practice shall be in helmets only;
e. During the first five (5) days in helmets only, the total practice time in helmets shall not exceed three (3) hours; and
f. During the first five (5) days in helmets only, only Level 0-“Air” and Level 1-“Bags” drills shall be conducted;
i. Water breaks, rest breaks, and injury treatment shall not count against the 3-hour limit; and
ii. Weight training, conditioning, required meetings, required sport and skill specific film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 3-hour limit;
g. Following the first five days, on days when the maximum of two practices of any type is held, a total limit of 5 hours per day of practice, not including the mandatory break shall be allowed;
i. Water breaks, rest breaks, and injury treatment shall not count against the 5-hour limit; and
ii. Weight training, conditioning, required meetings, required sport and skill specific film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 5-hour limit;
(8) Beginning July 22 through July 31:
a. Practice may be conducted in shells (shorts, helmets, shoulder pads) for each player who has had at least five days in helmets only;
b. Only Level 0-“Air”, Level 1-“Bags” and Level 2-“Control” drills shall be conducted prior to the final non-contact interscholastic simulation;
c. Following the final non-contact interscholastic simulation, only Level 0-“Air”, Level 1-“Bags”, Level 2-“Control” and Level 3- “Thud” drills shall be conducted;
d. No single practice session shall be longer than three (3) hours;
e. Multiple contact practices shall not be held on any day where Level 3-“Thud” drills are conducted;
f. On days when the maximum of two practices of any type is held, a total limit of 5 hours per day of practice, not including the mandatory break shall be allowed;
i. Water breaks, rest breaks, and injury treatment shall not count against the 5-hour limit; and
ii. Weight training, conditioning, required meetings, required sport and skill specific film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 5-hour limit;
g. On days when only one practice of any type is held, a total limit of 3 hours per day of practice shall be allowed;
i. Water breaks, rest breaks, and injury treatment shall not count against the 3-hour limit; and
ii. Weight training, conditioning, required meetings, required sport and skill specific film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 3-hour limit;
h. A 3-hour break is required after a contact practice where Level 3-“Thud” drills are conducted during which no activity shall be held and the athletes are located where cooling and recovery is possible;
i. During this break, there shall be no gear worn, and no activity that in any way simulates football or football drills. This restriction is in place regardless of where the practice occurs including camps, home practices, or other workout areas. This period is solely for rest/recovery; and
ii. Weight training, conditioning, meetings, film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall not be conducted during the three-hour required break; and
i. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance is in place for these drills and practice sessions.
(8) Beginning August 1, practice may be conducted in full gear for all players who have had at least three practices wearing shells (helmets and shoulder pads).
a. Level 0-“Air”, Level 1-“Bags”, Level 2-“Control”, Level 3-“Thud” and Level 4-“Live action” drills may be conducted however Level 3-“Thud” and Level 4-“Live action” drills may only be conducted in one practice per day;
b. No single practice session shall be longer than three (3) hours;
c. Multiple contact practices shall not be held on any day where Level 3-“Thud” or Level 4-“Live Action” drills are conducted;
d. On days when two practices of any type are held, a total limit of 5 hours per day of practice, not including the mandatory break shall be allowed;
i. Water breaks, rest breaks, and injury treatment shall not count against the 5-hour limit.
ii. Weight training, conditioning, required meetings, required sport and skill specific film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 5-hour limit;
e. On days when only one practice of any type is held, a total limit of 3 hours per day of practice shall be allowed.
i. Water breaks, rest breaks, and injury treatment shall not count against the 3-hour limit.
ii. Weight training, conditioning, required meetings, required sport and skill specific film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall count against 3-hour limit
f. A 3-hour break is required after a contact practice where Level 3-“Thud” and Level 4-“Live action” drills are conducted during which no activity shall be held and the athletes are located where cooling and recovery is possible.
i. During this break, there shall be no gear worn, and no activity that in any way simulates football or football drills. This restriction is in place regardless of where the practice occurs including camps, home practices, or other workout areas. This period is solely for rest/recovery;
ii. Weight training, conditioning, meetings, film study, and teaching period/walk through simulations without equipment shall not be conducted during the three-hour required break;
g. The KHSAA catastrophic insurance is in place for these drills and practice sessions;
(9) Beginning Monday of the week the first scrimmage is played by the school, each school may participate in “Thud” or “Live Action” drills and game time simulations (not including contests or legal scrimmages) for no more than ninety-minutes per team, per week;
(10) After the opening day of the school year:
a. A school shall not conduct multiple on-field practice sessions of any type on the same day;
b. No single practice session shall be longer than three (3) hours;
(11) All schools shall upon request, submit any required documentation to verify the proper execution of the practice regulations, including scrimmage, contact, and Heat/Humidity Measurement and Compliance Programs.
b) After August 1 and prior to the opening varsity game of the season, there shall be no more than two (2) scrimmages or practice games per member school (grades 9-12) with players other than members of the squad.
c) The first game shall not take place prior to the Friday eleven (11) weeks prior to the week of the first round of the football playoffs.
d) The season shall consist of a maximum of ten (10) regular season games and the opportunity to play regular season games shall conclude at the end NFHS corresponding week 17. Any school may play one of the allowable regular season games during Week 0 (normally NFHS corresponding week 7) provided that the total schedule does not exceed ten (10) regular season games and that the allowable number of scrimmages is reduced to one.
e) Provided that at least one classification within the KHSAA conducts playoffs that last five (5) weeks, any school that chooses to compete for a district title and is placed in a classification where only four (4) weeks are needed to complete the playoffs may play an additional regular season contest (total of 11 contests), the last of which shall be played during the first round of the playoffs for the other classifications.
f) The opportunity to participate in regular season contests shall end at all levels of play (grades 9-12) on the Saturday preceding the first KHSAA Tournament (District, Region or State), with the exception that the varsity team may practice and play through its elimination from KHSAA sanctioned tournament play. Following elimination, there shall be no further practice or play during the remainder of the academic school year.
g) Each player, in order to be eligible to participate against another school and to become acclimatized and acclimated, shall have taken part in a minimum of five (5) practices over five (5) days in helmets only, three (3) practices in helmet and shoulder pads over three (3) days followed by three (3) contact practices over three days. A contact practice on the date of a contest shall not count as one of the required practices in allowing the student to play in that contest.
h) Each football school may elect to conduct spring football practice under the following conditions:
(1) A school may conduct ten (10) spring practice periods of not more than two (2) hours in length and not more than one practice per day over ten (10) days during three consecutive calendar weeks, which shall be chosen by the school on or before December 15;
(2) Failure to submit the schedule by December 15 will result in a loss of the ability to conduct spring football practice.
(3) The three consecutive calendar weeks shall not begin prior to the Monday following the school’s elimination from postseason play in basketball, and shall not conclude later than the last day of school on the original school calendar.
(4) Any period of time when school is not in session on a week day, including testing and breaks, shall not count as one of the ten (10) permitted days, and practice shall not be conducted on those days.
(5) All equipment authorized by the football playing rules may be used during this period.
(6) There shall be no interscholastic competition during this period, and all participants shall be eligible according to all KHSAA eligibility rules.
(7) After December 15, the dates shall not be changed except by request of the member school Principal, and only if the newly requested period begins not later than the Monday following the conclusions of the originally scheduled school spring break.
(8) Practice sessions shall conform to the following rotation of types of practice:
a. Two days Non-Contact (0-“Air”, 1-“Bags”, 2-“Control”);
b. Two days Contact (3-“Thud”, 4-“Live Action”);
c. One day Non-Contact (0-“Air”, 1-“Bags”, 2-“Control”);
d. Two days Contact (3-“Thud”, 4-“Live Action”);
e. One day Non-Contact (0-“Air”, 1-Bags, 2-“Control”); and
f. Two days Contact (3-“Thud”, 4-“Live Action”).
(9) A student below grade nine or in grade 12 shall not participate;
(10) Only students currently eligible by all KHSAA rules including Bylaws 2 through 12 may participate;
(11) Intrasquad games may be held but shall be counted as one of the ten practice sessions; and
(12) Any student who has neither participated in organized competition in a KHSAA sanctioned winter or spring sport, nor has documentation of supervision by a coach qualified under Bylaw 25 in a minimum of 8 conditioning workouts after the previous season and before the start of spring practice (including competition on a competitive weight lifting team at the school), shall have two (2) days of practice in helmets only and two (2) additional days in shells (helmets and shoulder pads) for acclimation prior to wearing the remainder of the allowable football gear;
(13) There shall be no mandatory participation (including school or coach imposed penalty) by any person on a spring sports eligibility list (or entering any spring sport scrimmage or contest) or any other student desiring not to participate.
i) Following the season and until organized practice begins for the next season, no football gear other than the helmet may be issued used by a member of the team for any activity except for the approved spring football practice period and issuance of gear to a specific individual for attendance/participation in a specific event at an off-campus facility.
(1) Football gear as defined in NFHS rule 1-5 (including shoulder pads and other protective gear) may be issued to a player who has previously played for the team to participate in an all-star game between the last day of the previous season and before July 10 provided no more than four players from any school participate in the same sessions at that game. Any all-star game for which gear is issued under this exception shall be considered an all-star game by the NCAA.
Football gear as defined in NFHS rule 1-5 (including shoulder pads and other protective gear) may be issued to a player who has previously played for the team to participate in an individual camp between the last day of the previous season and before July 22 provided no more than four players from any school participate in the same sessions at that camp.
(2) The gear shall be returned by the individual immediately following the camp. No football gear as defined in NFHS rule 1-5 (including shoulder pads and other protective gear) may be issued for any event involving any person not enrolled at that school that is held at a KHSAA member school or at a facility utilized for games by a member school except for the all-star game/individual camp exception detailed above. This includes camps sponsored by outside entities if a member school’s coaches are present or any equipment is issued to participants.
(3) There is no opportunity for any team activity in football gear at camps where representatives of any other school are present except for the noncontact game simulations as detailed above. There is no allowance for full contact camps for teams or issuing other equipment to individuals except as detailed in the all-star game/individual camp exception.
j) The Board of Control may waive provision(s) (b) or (d) of this Bylaw to allow member schools to participate in Hall of Fame and Museum contests. Rules on participation in the Classic shall be made by the Board of Control and published in the Athlete Magazine as a part of the official record of the Association.

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