07/24/12 – Championship Weekend Created for Fall Sports

July 24, 2012 2012-2013 News Releases

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 24, 2012

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND CREATED FOR FALL SPORTS
Beginning in the fall of 2013 the first weekend of November will have a championship feel unlike any other in the Association’s 95-year history. The KHSAA Board of Control approved a measure at its July meeting to create a fall sports weekend of championships as five separate team championships will be decided on the same Saturday.
The final championship contests for volleyball, boys’ and girls’ cross country, as well as boys’ and girls’ soccer will be awarded on Nov. 9, 2013. The new series of championships will be held in week 18 of the NFHS corresponding date calendar.
The decision to create a fall weekend of champions received support for several reasons, among them the fact it cuts down on scheduling conflicts for member schools, unlike when the championships are conducted on three separate weekends. Similar events also have been conducted in the past with multiple championships on the same weekend, including the soccer/cross country, tennis/track and baseball/softball combinations with great success.
“This is a model that has worked well in the past and we likely will be using more in the future because it causes minimal intrusion in the academic year,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “We want to make sure student-athlete success in the classroom comes first and if having multiple championships at once is a way to ensure they miss less study time and it helps teachers, then I’m all for it. We tried it last spring by doubling up tennis and track in May and baseball and softball in June and received a lot of positive feedback for it. I think that weekend will be something people now will be able to circle on their calendars years in advance, which will really enhance the championship experience for every sport involved.”
The length of the soccer season will remain unchanged. The length of volleyball season will remain the same, though the official start date of the first match will move back by one week, to Aug. 12, 2013. The first official practice date for each remains July 15.

SOCCER HEAT TIMEOUT PROCEDURE ADOPTED
Beginning this season soccer matches that are played when the heat index is high enough to warrant mandatory water breaks will have a common time to take those breaks.
In games where the heat index has been determined to be 95 or higher, play will stop at the 20 minute mark of each half of play to allow student-athletes and officials to take a mandatory 10-minute heat timeout and water break. The timeout will not be charged to either team. Contest officials will get heat index information from game management before the start of the contest and will then implement the timeout procedures by notifying the coaches at the required pre-game meeting.
“This continues our ongoing and long standing efforts to protect student-athletes during times when heat can be the most dangerous,” said Commissioner Tackett. Assistant Commissioner for soccer Michael Barren added, “It’s something that is already being done in football and represents a solid common sense solution. I think our officials will quickly adapt and this will give our coaches the ability to make any necessary strategic decisions.”

McCRACKEN COUNTY FOOTBALL PLACED IN DISTRICT ALIGNMENT
McCracken County High School, scheduled to open in the fall of 2013, was placed in Class 6A, District 1 by a measure approved the KHSAA Board of Control. The placement is good for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Muhlenberg County, a current member of Class 6A, District 1, will move to District 2.
McCracken County High School will be formed from the consolidation of Reidland, Lone Oak and Heath High Schools.

KHSAA ASSISTS MEMBER SCHOOLS WITH FORMULATION OF MODEL EMERGENCY ACTION PLANS
KHSAA member schools will soon have assistance in formulating venue specific emergency action plans, thanks to examples and templates previewed before the Board of Control and to be offered by the Association through its newly redesigned website (www.khsaa.org).
As a condition of House Bill 281, in addition to education requirements for concussion education, each KHSAA member school must develop and practice a venue specific emergency action plan for each athletic facility.
“North Carolina passed similar legislation a couple years ago and as a result we reached out to the staff at the North Carolina office and those that assisted with the implementation of their plans, and they were extremely helpful,” said Tackett. “They gave us several good resources to use as a framework that we will be sharing with our membership so they may develop plans that are comprehensive, easy for everyone to understand quickly, and specific to their facility. Every second matters if the plan ever has to be used.”

— KHSAA —

For more information contact Elden May at 859-299-5472.

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