IHSA

IHSA How to Submit a Record

Last updated: January 9, 2004

IHSA Announces New Records Posting Policy

The Illinois High School Association has implemented a new policy that establishes guidelines for how outstanding performances achieved in high school competition may be submitted and how those performances are recorded.

The policy limits the number of entries in most “all-time record” categories to the top 50 performances, plus any ties for the 50th position. New submissions will not be recorded unless they rank in the top 50 of any category.

Performances that have already been posted, but which do not fall within the top 50, will remain online until June 30, 2004, so that interested persons may make printouts of these achievements.

The IHSA has always believed that publishing records is an important way to recognize the achievements of our member schools and their students and coaches. A twenty-year effort has yielded a records database with over 240,000 separate rows of information. The sheer volume of submissions received each week finally made it necessary to put reasonable limits in place.

At the same time, IHSA has introduced two new interactive Web pages. The Records Search page allows a Web surfer to search for a name in any of the four major records databases: all-time & tournament records, state tournament medalists, coaches’ yearly won-lost records, and state basketball tournament box scores. The Submit Records page allows anyone with information about a school’s or a coach’s yearly won-lost record to easily submit an update to the IHSA.

Following are the details of the new records policy.

IHSA Records Policy

All-Time Records

All-Time Records are performances achieved in a single interscholastic varsity contest (whether during the regular season or the state tournament series), a varsity season, or the high school varsity career of an athlete or coach.

Except for a few special categories where that have a fixed qualification standard, categories will be limited to the top 50 performances, plus any ties. Examples of the special categories with fixed standards include these basketball categories: the 500-win club (500 wins by a school), the coaching 300-win club, and the 50-point club (50 points scored by a player in a single game).

How to submit: See the complete explanation at the end of this announcement.

Yearly Won-Lost Records, including Coaches’ Names and IHSA Titles Won

The IHSA maintains the list of team titles (regional, sectional, etc.) won by each school in each sport/activity. Each school is invited to submit additional information filling in the coach for each year the school has had a varsity program, as well as the final won-lost (and tied) record in sports/activities that feature dual competition. This includes the pure team sports (baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, volleyball, water polo) as well as bowling, cross country, golf, swimming & diving, track & field, and dual team wrestling.

How to submit: You must use the Submit Records form to make additions to this list. Do not send additions by mail, e-mail, or fax. Corrections ONLY should be sent to

State Tournament Records, State Meet Records, and State Playoff Records

State tournament records are performances achieved during an IHSA State Final (that is, they do not include performances from the regional, sectional, or super-sectional stages). There are two exceptions. By tradition, record-keeping for the boys basketball “state final” includes the super-sectional games. In addition, records are kept for all rounds of the boys football playoffs, not just the state championship games.

The limits for state records are different from those for all-time records. In general, for sports that have many categories of records (including the purely team sports of baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, volleyball, water polo, as well as wrestling), IHSA lists only the top record holder, along with any ties. This has always been the policy and will not change.

For individual sports in which the records kept are simply a list of top performances in an event or events, the limit will be 50. This includes bowling, cross country, golf, gymnastics, swimming & diving, and track & field.

How to submit: In general, state records are compiled and updated by IHSA staff. Nevertheless, new records sometimes slip through the cracks, especially in sports with a variety of categories. If you notice an omission, please follow the policy outlined below.

Medalists

In sports where medals are awarded for individual performance, IHSA records the name of each competitor who receives a medal in an individual event or a relay event.

The names included in the list of medalists extends back to 1893, when the first state interscholastic track meet was held. In most cases, the list is complete, with the notable exception of relay teams, where generally only the members of the winning relay team were recorded until fairly recently.

How to submit: Not necessary. New medalists are added by the IHSA staff soon after the conclusion of each state final event.

How to Submit All-Time Records to the IHSA

New Submissions

We encourage you to submit additions and corrections to the IHSA Record Books. The IHSA staff does not have the resources to scour the newspapers of the state looking for records, especially those set during games and matches outside the state finals. Instead, we depend on coaches, media members, parents, and fans to keep us up-to-date with the latest and greatest in the world of sports.

To ensure that our records are accurate, we must ask you to adhere to the following guidelines when you make a submission to the Record Books.

Corrections of Existing Records

Corrections of typographical errors may be submitted to . However, corrections involving a change in the mark (for example, 50 points is listed but you think it should be 60 points) must follow the guidelines for new records outlined below.

New Records

Supporting documentation is not necessary for new records if the submission contains the signature of the school's head coach, athletic director, or principal, or if the submission comes from a reliable media outlet. Otherwise, you must submit supporting documentation. (For types of documentation, see below under each category).

Single-Game or Single-Match Records: Include the category, the mark, the full name of the record-setting individual and his/her team (or the name of the record-setting team), the name of the opposing team, the exact date, and the stage of the state tournament (if applicable). For percentage records, include the number of successes and attempts.

Supporting documentation required if school signature is not available : A photocopy of a signed scorebook page, a printed newspaper account, or a high school yearbook account.

Single-Season Record s: Include the category, the mark, the full name of the record-setting individual and his/her team (or the name of the record-setting team), and the season. For percentage records, include the number of successes and attempts.

Supporting documentation required if school signature is not available : A printed newspaper account or a high school yearbook account supporting the cumulative total.

Career Records : Include the category, the mark, the full name of the record-setting individual and his/her team, and the seasons he/she played. For percentage records, include the number of successes and attempts.

Supporting documentation required if school signature is not available : A printed newspaper account or a high school yearbook account supporting the cumulative total.

Fax or Mail Your Submission

When your submission is complete, fax (309-663-7479) or mail (P.O. Box 2715, Bloomington, IL 61702) your submission to Scott Johnson, IHSA Asst. Executive Director. Please keep a copy for your records, in case your letter or fax goes astray and you need to resubmit.

Except for the special cases mentioned above, we cannot accept submissions via e-mail, because they do not contain either a verifiable signature or supporting documentation.

Please do not ask us to do the research or check out a potential record with a particular school. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to track down these leads, much as we would like to.

Updating Schedule

We try to update all-time records within 3-4 weeks after receiving a submission. Unfortunately, there are times of the year, especially from February through May, when updating records sometimes take a back seat to more important tasks here in the IHSA Office. We thank you for your patience.