CHANGES to the 2007-08 WIAA HANDBOOK

 

4.2.0 Amendment - HIGH SCHOOL CLASSIFICATIONS - Every eight (8) four (4) years the enrollment parameters for each classification shall be adjusted to promote more equitable distribution in the number of schools.

 

4.5.3 Amendment - Out of district students enrolled in an alternative school with a separate OSPI number may be deducted from the regular school count but will not be added to their resident school district count for classification determination.

 

8.2.0 Adjusted terms of office with new 3-year cycle

 

8.3.0 Amendment - QUALIFICATIONS – Each of these members shall be either a district or building level administrator, athletic director, activities director, coach or teacher within a member school district or a school director who sits on the WSSDA IAC committee.

 

17.2.1 Editorial – added “as determined by the school board”.

 

17.4.0 Amendment - SPLIT SEASON - DEFINITION – A split season must be at least four weeks in the fall with the remaining weeks in the spring. The number of weeks of the two short seasons shall not exceed the total weeks of that specific sport season.

 

17.6.2 17.5.2 Editorial - School sponsorship or promotion of practice and/or participation in a given sport contest is restricted to the WIAA designated season for that sport.

PROMOTION - Definition - Promotion is defined as providing, School wide posting or distributing of information pertaining to a specific event or activity and/or encouraging students to participate in the event or activity is permissible.

 

17.6.7 17.5.7 Amendment and editorial- A coach may have one (1) organizational meeting with the incoming freshmen or sophomores at each middle or junior high school for students who are enrolled in the middle or junior high school whose attendance area is within the high school's attendance area and one (1) meeting with the squad prior to the opening day of practice to issue equipment and to explain to the participants such issues as insurance, physical examinations, season's plans, training regulations and any other pertinent information deemed necessary by the coach. This restriction does not apply to fundraising activities unless the fundraising activities include skills that are specific to the sport being coached. Fundraising activities are subject to the approval and rules of the participating school districts and/or Association Student Body governments.

A. This restriction does not apply to fundraising activities unless the fundraising activities include skills that are specific to the sport being coached. Fundraising activities are subject to the approval and rules of the participating school districts and/or Association Student Body governments.

B. Organization or implementation of the wrestling weight management program is not considered to be the one (1) organizational meeting.

17.6.10 Editorial - A member school may organize and supervise a year-around conditioning program to include weight training, running and exercising provided it is open to all students and does not include instruction in specific sport skills all of the following conditions are met:

A. Participation in year round conditioning cannot be a requirement or condition of participation on a school team;

B. It is open to all students;

C. Instruction in specific sports skills is not provided.

 

17.6.11 Editorial – added “A. Participation in open gym cannot be a requirement or condition of participation on a school team.”

 

17.7.0 Editorial - SPECIALIZED SPORT CAMPS - Participants in a school-sponsored sport may attend camps or clinics at any time during the school year or during the summer. However, a fall participant in a school sponsored sport cannot attend any camps or clinics in that sport three (3) weeks prior to the first day of turnouts for that sport after July 31 if the participant’s coach is a clinician/organizer of that camp or clinic.

 

17.8.0 Editorial - SUMMER ACTIVITIES - For high schools summer is defined as the first day until three (3) weeks prior to the start of the fall turnouts for fall sports coaches and as the first day following the WIAA spring tournaments through July 31. For middle level schools summer is defined as the first day following the final day of the spring sports schedules through July 31.

 

17.8.0 Editorial - SUMMER ACTIVITIES - For high schools summer is defined as the first day following the WIAA spring tournaments until three (3) weeks prior to the start of fall turnouts for fall sports coaches and as the first day following the WIAA spring tournaments until the first day of the fall turnouts for winter and spring sports coaches through July 31. For middle level schools summer is defined as the first day following the final day of the spring sports schedules until three (3) weeks prior to the start of fall turnouts for fall sports coaches and as the first day following the final day of the spring sports schedules until the first day of the fall turnouts for winter and spring sports coaches through July 31.

 

17.8.1 Participation in a summer program cannot be a requirement or condition of participation on a school team.

 

17.9.5 Practice days - Definition – Practice days are considered to be Monday through Friday Saturday.

 

17.9.5.A. Saturday is an allowable practice day.

 

17.9.5.B Sundays may not be counted toward meeting the minimum practice requirements.

 

17.9.5.C. A nationally recognized holiday is an allowable practice day.

 

17.11.1 - Each contest must be credited to a definite squad. (repeat of 17.12.1.1)

 

17.12.1.2 Amendment -Each squad is limited to participating in only the maximum number of contests allowed for that sport.

 

17.12.1.3 When determining contest limitations, any league varsity contest will count as a contest for both schools' varsity teams.

NOTE: The WIAA Executive Board has developed a definition of a varsity contest:

A. In a team sport, a varsity squad is the group of individuals who represent a member school at the highest level of competition in a sport.

B. A sub-varsity squad is defined as any level of play below the varsity level (junior varsity, c-team, freshman team, etc). The membership of a sub-varsity team shall typically be composed of varsity substitutes and any other non-varsity players identified on the school's eligibility list.

A pattern of attempting to circumvent rules, regulations and/or policies shall be subject to review and possible penalty to be imposed by the WIAA Executive Board.

 

17.12.1.3 Editorial - Postseason games contests do not count against the game or quarterly season limitation provided the contests meet the definition below.

 

17.12.2 Editorial - POSTSEASON QUALIFYING EVENTS - Contests held after the regular season for the purpose of seeding teams or individuals into the next qualifying event or which qualify teams or individuals directly to the state tournament are not counted in the regular season game contest limit.

 

17.17.0 Joining 7th and 8th graders with 9th graders

 

17.18.0 9th graders

 

17.24.1.D Amendment - A student who has enrolled in a different school and has been determined to be recruited will be deemed ineligible at all levels of play and for all sports for one full calendar year. The one (1) year penalty will begin on the day the determination is made that the student has been recruited.

 

18.5.2 B. Editorial - This rule may not be appealed through the eligibility appeal process.

 

18.6.0 Editorial - 3 classes in a 4 period class schedule or the equivalent credits

3 classes in a 5 period class schedule or the equivalent credits

4 classes in a 6 period class schedule or the equivalent credits

5 classes in a 7 period class schedule or the equivalent credits

5 classes in an 8 period class schedule or the equivalent credits

 

18.6.3 Editorial - A student shall have passed the minimum number of classes as listed in 18.6.0 in the immediately preceding semester/trimester in order to be eligible for competition during the succeeding semester/trimester. The record at the end of the semester/trimester shall be final, except for those credits earned in a regular, accredited summer school program or alternative educational program accepted by the school district.

 

18.6.5 Editorial - ACADEMIC PROBATION SUSPENSION PERIOD - All references to “probation” or “probationary” were changed to “suspension.”

 

18.9.0 Editorial - DEFINITION of RESIDENCE and FAMILY UNIT

RESIDENCE - The place where the family unit has established its home and/or the place where the student is habitually present and to which, when departing, the student intends to return.

FAMILY UNIT - The adult(s) who has/have had legal custody or legal guardianship of the student for a period of at least one (1) year and with whom the student resides.

 

18.10.1.G. Editorial - A seventh and/or eighth grade student who transfers to a school without a corresponding change of residence by his or her family unit and who meets all other conditions of eligibility shall be eligible at the new middle school when properly enrolled. High school eligibility is subject to the transfer rule and one (1) year of continuous enrollment.

 

18.10.1.H. Editorial - A student, except F-1 Visa students to a private school, upon enrollment to the initial first level of a private school from a public school or a public school from a private school.

 

18.10.3.B. Editorial - A student coming to this country for a one-year cultural/educational experience is eligible at the varsity level for one (1) year only in the school in which he/she has been placed, provided all other rules of eligibility have been met and the student has not graduated from the high school equivalent in his/her home country. F-1 Visa students remaining for more than one (1) year will be considered transfer students. Graduated students can not compete interscholastically at any level (i.e., varsity or sub-varsity).

 

18.13.3 Editorial - To resume participation following an illness and/or injury serious enough to require medical care, a participating student must present to the school officials a written release from a physician licensed to perform physical examinations as listed in 18.13.1 and/or a dentist as applicable.

 

18.13.4 Editorial - The physical examination shall be valid for twenty-four (24) consecutive months to the date unless otherwise limited by local school district policy or when the physician indicates the physical is only good for less than twenty-four (24) consecutive month..

 

18.14.0 Editorial - SEASON LIMITATIONS - After entering or being eligible to enter the seventh grade students shall have six (6) consecutive years of interscholastic eligibility. If the seventh or eighth grade is repeated, and such repetition is based upon documented academic deficiencies by the school principal, the repeated year shall not count against the student’s six (6) interscholastic competitive years. Home school students are required to provide documentation of academic deficiency to be verified by the school principal.

 

18.15.0 Board Policy – added transgender policies.4

 

18.15.0 18.17.0 Amendment - EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION - A 1B high school with a total enrollment of 75 students or less in grades 9-12 as determined by the official P-223 classification count may use eighth grade students from a WIAA member middle school/junior high to salvage viable varsity high school teams or if no middle level program is offered in that sport during the same season. If the total enrollment of the high school is not over seventy-five (75) when the enrollment count is taken to determine the high school classification, the eighth grade students of the school may be permitted to participate on all high school varsity teams provided there is no middle level program. If the total enrollment of the high school is greater than seventy-five (75) when the enrollment count was taken, but drops below seventy-five (75) at the end of the first two (2) weeks of the school year for the fall sports season or at the end of the first two (2) weeks of the winter or spring sports season, the eighth grade students of the school may be permitted to participate on the high school varsity teams if no program is available at the middle level during that specific sports season.

 

18.17.0 18.16.0 Editorial - FIFTH GRADE PARTICIPATION – If the total enrollment of the seventh and eighth grades in a middle school is not over forty (40) when the enrollment count is taken to determine the high school classification, the fifth grade students of the school may be permitted to participate on all seventh and eighth grade teams except tackle football for the next two (2) years. If the total enrollment of seventh and eighth grade students in a middle school is greater than forty (40) when the enrollment count was taken, but drops below forty (40) during the first two (2) weeks of any sports season, the fifth grade students of the school may be permitted to participate on seventh and eighth grade volleyball, basketball and track teams during that specific sports

 

18.16.0 18.17.0 6th graders

 

17.17.0 18.18.0 Joining seventh and eighth graders with ninth graders

 

18.18.0 18.21.0 Editorial - CONCURRENT SPORTS LIMITATION – A middle level or a high school student shall not compete concurrently in more than one (1) interscholastic sport per season.

 

18.18.1 18.19.0 Editorial - The reference to 'B' classification will be changed to "1B and 2B".

 

18.19.0 18.22.0 Editorial - NON-SCHOOL PARTICIPATION - During any sport season after joining a school squad, students may also participate on a non-school team or teams. not participate on professional teams in that sport and may not represent a college team in that sport. A high school student forfeits any remaining high school eligibility in that sport by participating on a professional or college team.

 

18.19.1 Participation in a non-school program cannot be a requirement or condition of participation on a school team.

 

18.20.0 18.23.0 Editorial - $100 limit per sport

 

18.21.1 The exception shall be for students participating in high schools of ‘1B’ or ‘2B’ classification with local administrators and school board determining eligible participation in more than one (1) interscholastic sport per season at that high school.

 

18.23.1 18.26.1 Editorial - Alcohol and tobacco - Each WIAA member school shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations pertaining to the use of alcohol or tobacco products that are specific to the middle or high school levels and shall be as follows.

 

18.24.3.A. Editorial - A transferring student has not participated on a school or club/community team for which the student is requesting a varsity level eligibility for one calendar year prior to participation in that sport.

 

18.23.0 18.26.2 Editorial - Legend drugs and controlled substances – Penalties for the possession, use or sale of legend drugs (drugs obtained through prescription, RCW 69.41.020-050) and controlled substances (RCW 69.50):

B. A participant who seeks and receives help for a problem with use of legend drugs (RCW69.41.010 identified substances) or controlled substances and controlled substance analogs (RCW 69.50.101 identified substances) shall be given the opportunity for assistance through the school and/or community agencies. In no instance shall participation in a school and/or community approved assistance program excuse a student athlete from subsequent compliance with this regulation. However, successful utilization of such an opportunity or compliance with athletic code by the student athlete may allow him/her to have eligibility re-instated in the that athletic program season, pending recommendation by the school eligibility authority.

 

18.25.1 18.28.1 Editorial - EJECTION FROM CONTEST - Conduct resulting in ejection or disqualification from an interscholastic contest administered by game officials, coaches or school administrators shall result in the following:

 

18.25.2 For the remainder of the season in which the ejection occurred:

 

18.25.3 19.13.3 Editorial – APPEAL PROCESS (for ejection from contest)

 

18.28.2.B Amendment 1) In order for the suspension in the succeeding season of participation to meet this requirement, the participant must be a member of the team for the entire season for that sport.

 

18.25.2 Editorial - If the suspension cannot be served before the conclusion of the season the

 

18.25.3 19.14.0 Editorial (now with all eligibility appeals)

 

18.25.4 19.15.0 Editorial (now with all eligibility appeals)

 

19.4.0 Editorial - PROCEDURES FOR INFORMING SENDING SCHOOL PRINCIPAL OF APPEAL – In transferring student cases, the sending school principal or designee shall be notified by mail, email, fax or phone by the WIAA District Eligibility Chairperson or designee of the hearing date, time, and place.

 

20.1.0 18.22.4 Editorial –Awards (now included in amateur standing section)

 

21.1.0 Editorial – Removed reference to student activities insurance (responsibility of each school district)

 

22.0.0 17.21.0 Editorial – Medical Personnel

 

23.1.1.F Amendment - Coaching stipends and all gifts to a coach exceeding a total of $500 in a season must be approved by the school's board of directors.

 

23.3.0.F.2 Head Coach - High School - Annually attend a complete the WIAA approved online rules clinic for the sport being coached or pass the WIAA approved sports rules test required of officials for the sport being coached prior to the end of the third week of the sports season.

 

23.3.1.F.3 Head Coach – Middle level – The WIAA recommends, but does not require, that the head coach at the middle level or junior high level annually attend a complete the WIAA approved online rules clinic for the sport being coached or pass the WIAA approved sports rules test required of officials for the sport being coached prior to the end of the third week of the sports season.

 

23.6.0 Editorial - SHARED COACHING - The WIAA Executive Director may approve shared coaching in diving, gymnastics and pole vaulting that have been determined to pose a safety or health concern for student athletes due to the qualifications or lack thereof of available coaching staff. Prior to approval the following criteria must be documented or verified to the Executive Director by the requesting member school:

 

24.4.0 Editorial - USE OF REGISTERED OFFICIALS - The Washington Officials Association registers officials in baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, soccer, softball, spirit, volleyball and wrestling. Only officials registered with the Washington Officials Association or have reciprocity through another state officials association are eligible to officiate regularly scheduled contests for all sports and at all levels of play sanctioned by WIAA.

 

24.1.1 School representatives do not have the authority to solicit officials directly for contests. All assignments must be made by and through the appropriate assigning secretary for the respective officials' association/board.

 

25.2.6 Board policy adoption - 3. The WIAA District with more than one (1) allocation may choose to “protect” its number one (1) team, and/or additional allocations as applicable, and offer only the lowest allocation in a playoff with the District appealing for an additional allocation

 

27.2.5 Amendment - The action of the league shall be forwarded to the appropriate WIAA District Board, then to the WIAA Executive Board for review. The Board at each level shall determine if the penalty is appropriate and in accordance with the WIAA School District Due Process Procedures. The Board at each level has the authority to levy additional penalties as deemed appropriate.

 

27.3.0 Editorial - USE OF INELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT - The use of a participant who is ineligible by WIAA or local school district rules shall result in forfeiture of contests in which that participant took part, except in situations in which it is determined that the participant/parent/guardian provided the school with false information which caused the school to declare the participant eligible. In such cases, the participant will be declared ineligible for interscholastic competition for a period of one (1) year. The one (1) year penalty will begin on the day the determination is made that the student is ineligible. The one (1) year penalty may be appealed to the WIAA Executive Director.

 

27.5.0 Amendment - PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION 27.5.5 Member schools violating the regular season games, meets or match limitation shall be ineligible for any post-season participation in that sport.

 

57.3.0 Editorial - JAMBOREE - A team may participate in a jamboree following ten (10) days of practice. All general jamboree conditions also apply.

B. For the purposes of the player limitation, participating in two (2) to twenty (20) snaps shall be the same as participating in one (1) quarter of a regular game; twenty-one (21) to forty (40) snaps shall be the same as participating in two (2) quarters of a regular game. NOTE: This situation would occur only when a jamboree is held within three (3) days of a regular game.

 

51.0.0-66.0.0 Revised beginning and ending dates for 2008-09

 

52.6.1 Amendment - MIDDLE LEVEL BASKETBALL

Season Contest Limit

10 + Jamboree for 7th or 8th graders

40 quarters 12 + jamboree for 7th or 8th graders on 9th grade teams

12 + Jamboree for 9th graders

 

57.65.3 Editorial - FIFTH QUARTER - A fifth quarter may be played. only by freshmen football squads following the regular contest. The 5th quarter is for players who were not starters and played in two (2) three (3) quarters or less of the regular contest. This quarter shall not include kick offs, punts, tries or field goals.

 

57.65.0 Editorial - PLAYER LIMITATION - A football participant shall be eligible to compete in up to four (4) quarters of play during any three-day period of the football season. A team shall be allowed one (1) week during the season to play two (2) contests with a minimum of three days between contests. A team shall be allowed one (1) week during the season to play two (2) contests.

 

63.6.0 Editorial - An individual will not play in more than twenty-three (23) contests on sixteen (16) team dates prior to any qualifying tournament. A player can play one (1) singles match and one (1) doubles match on the same day during the regular season, and this will be considered as one (1) contest for the individual.

 

66.6.0 Editorial - WEIGHT CONTROL PLAN Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, the NFHS Wrestling Weight Management Program will be followed. The text of the Wrestling Weight Management Program can be accessed on the WIAA Web site at www.wiaa.com.

 

66.64.1 Editorial - There shall be no more than two (2) contests per week per team and no more than four (4) contests matches per week per individual. The only exception is described in A and B below: