IHSA

IHSA Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes - 2007-08

Boys/girls volleyball Advisory Committee

November 29, 2007

The IHSA Boys and Girls Volleyball Advisory Committee met at the IHSA Office, Bloomington, Illinois, on Thursday, November 29, 2007, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Committee members present were: Jill Carter, Virginia; Deb Derby, Streator (Woodland); Brother Paul Ickes, C.F.C, Chicago (Brother Rice); Joann Pyritz, LaGrange (Lyons); Kristy Pierce, Lanark (Eastland); Larry Sample, Chatham (Glenwood); and Jennifer Stanley, Carbondale. Assistant Executive Director, Susan K. Hinrichsen was also in attendance. Doug Blundy, Crystal Lake (Central) was not in attendance. Guests attending the meeting were: Doug Smith, Naperville (North); Marty Bee, Naperville (Central); Peg Kopec, Wheaton (St. Francis).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Item II-A – Dates and Sites:

Recommendation: It is recommended that all Class 1A-4A regional preliminary and semifinal matches shall be held at the regional site on Wednesday or Thursday of week 17. Specifically the upper bracket of the regional draw shall be played on Wednesday and the lower bracket of the regional draw shall be played on Thursday at the designated regional site. The regional championships shall be played on Saturday of week 17.

Rationale: While the regional host school will host on 3 days, the teams participating will play on 2 days one of which is on a Saturday.

approved

2. Item II-C – Dates and Sites:

Recommendation: It is recommended that all Class 1A-4A sectional semifinal matches shall be held on Tuesday of week 18. The sectional finals shall be held on Thursday of week 18 at the designated sectional site.

Rationale: This provides for a 2 day sectional.

approved

3. Item II-D – Dates and Sites:

Recommendation: It is recommended that all Class 1A-4A super-sectional matches shall be held on Saturday of week 18 at the designated super-sectional site.

Rationale: The super-sectional was moved from a school day to a Saturday to accommodate travel, loss of school time, and also provided additional prep time for teams traveling to the state finals.

approved

4. Item VI-B. – Time Schedules:

Recommendation: For a regional that has 3 matches (2 prelims and 1 semifinal) played on one night the games times shall be 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. For a regional that has 2 matches played on one night (1 prelim and 1 semifinal) the game times shall be 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The Saturday regional final match can be played between the hours of 1:00-7:00 p.m. Sectional semifinal matches shall be played at 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. The sectional finals shall be played at 7:00 p.m. Super-sectional matches shall be played between the hours of 1:00-7:00 p.m.

Rationale: Gives time for managers to set up and provides for a reasonable time to finish. Flex time on Saturdays allows for schools hosting football to work both into their day. Overall the committee likes an evening game for their volleyball championship.

approved

5. Item V.-H. – Pairings:

Recommendation: In the case of the traditional regional, the teams advancing from each regional shall be placed in the sectional draw based on the luck of the draw. In the case of sub-sectionals, 1 vs. 2 from each sub-sectional will play each other. The Class 1A-4A pairings will be made by the IHSA and posted on the IHSA website no later than the Friday of the week of the seeding meeting.

Rationale: Clarification.

approved

6. Item V-E. -- Tournament Assignments and Seeding Meetings:

Recommendation: It is recommended that a fax/electronic seed meeting be allowed for regionals that have 4-5 schools assigned to it and where travel is unreasonable. All schools must mutually agree upon this format.

Rationale: This was experimented with this past year and favored by participants due to the elimination of travel.

approved

7. Recommendation: It is recommended that the girls’ volleyball program adopt the “Volley for A Cure” promotion to be played during the regular season at one home and one away match. Additionally for this match it is recommended that a pink and white ball be allowed and officials be allowed to wear a pink official’s shirt for that match.

Rationale: The Ohio State Association in conjunction with their Coaches Association has successfully run this event during their season. Several schools this season in Illinois were given permission to participate in this event during the season. After their Pack the Place in Pink match, they brought this recommendation to the IHSA. This promotion could be run in conjunction with community awareness day during Activities week and/or during the month of October which is breast cancer awareness month. IHSA licensed vendors would be asked to participate by printing and using an IHSA breast cancer designed pink t-shirt.

There was no motion to accept Recommendation 7. However, schools will be allowed to be involved in the “Volley for a Cure.” Information will be included in the Volleyball Manual.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS:

The committee recommended that the IHSA Official Advisory Committee or the IHSA staff look to review a pay increase at the sectional and super-sectional level for line judges which are consistent with the pay steps for officials.

A discussion on the hiring of line judges prompted the committee to recommend that the IHSA encourage the sectional and super-sectional managers to contact officials association and official associations contact the managers to work for these matches. Officials are interested in participating in the matches and managers are open to recommendations for good line judges for their state series matches.

It was recommended that at the seeding meetings, the managers ask the coaches for suggestions for line judges who have had experience during the regular season. Coaches may have potential volunteers/ trained individuals who can handle the caliber of play and it would help the managers take care of this responsibility.

4. The committee recommended some safety measures to be highlighted when setting up spectator seating areas. It recommends that the student section not be assigned directly behind the players benches. In addition, if the fan section is standing for the entire game, the manager and officials are asked to make sure they remain in the stands and not on the playable area.

ITEMS OF GENERAL DISCUSSION:

The committee reviewed 11 proposals for tournament structure. Doug Smith and Marty Bee presented their proposal to the committee. Action was taken on recommending changes to the tournament structure.

The committee heard a report from Beth Sauser reviewing the statewide Sportsmanship Campaign program. She asked for the committee to encourage their conference to participate if they are not involved in the new program.

The committee reviewed a charitable promotion called St. Baldericks which some schools have participated in. Br. Paul Ickes will report back to the committee next year on this event that assists children suffering from cancer.

The committee discussed the state final site for boys and the bidding process for IHSA state finals. Interest was expressed by Br. Paul Ickes to move the state final to a college site after the contract with Hoffman Estates expires.

The committee looked at NFHS playing rules and supported the use of colored volleyballs, a rule prohibiting cell phones, prohibiting IPODS or other electronic equipment, and requiring the wearing of shoes during any level of warm ups by all participant on the floor.

There was discussion regarding the growth of boys’ volleyball outside the suburban area. It was noted that new teams are being added in the southern part of the state.

The committee discussed the need to educate new coaches on how to seed teams. Typically when seeds are not accurate it is based on a lack of knowledge.

The committee supports the assigning of regional officials to a 2 year contract. It would allow officials to plan ahead as they do for their school contracts.

Members of the committee discussed developing a method of seeding the boys’ volleyball state final tournament. From a practical standpoint, with the suburban location with no advance sale tickets and with the timing of the sectional matches, it could be done. A seeding plan will be worked on this year with the intent to submit it to the committee next year.

The 3 out of 5 game format and blocking a let serve were NFHS rules discussed. No action taken.

The committee reviewed correspondence from the year.

The committee recognized Doug Blundy, Kristy Pierce and Jennifer Stanley for their service on the Volleyball Advisory Committee. Division 2, 4 and 7 will need to be replaced with new members. Additionally the committee heard a report covering the policy for advisory committee replacements.