Information

Warning!...... Warning!..... Warning!..... Warning!..... Warning!

Nike Cross Country Team Championship Meet:

The last two years Nike Corporation has offered a Nike Cross Country Team Championship Meet. They created a system to invite the top teams in their view from around the country to compete in this meet. If you look at the results of the meet most of the teams compete as “clubs” at this meet. If a team where to be invited from Massachusetts that team would have to refuse the invitation. You could not play the game of creating a club and therefore travel under that name. The MIAA rule is very clear on this. It is rule 40.5.3 dealing with out of season coaching. It states, “at no time may the coach supervise any group or subgroup which includes 50% or more students who are among his/her candidates. (The MIAA Board of Directors advises that “sub-groups extends to the number of candidates who are actually playing or competing at any one time..)” An example of this would be that a coach feels that he or she might get a team invitation so they invite other local cross country athletes to join him at practice each day so that the number of athletes he is coaching has more than 50% not from his school. Then he/she would “select” his/her top 7 athletes to go to this meet. This would be illegal since the ruling deals with who is actually playing or competing at any one time and all of those selected in this example would be from his/her school.

You might also concern yourself with the punishment for breaking this rule…rule 40.7…states “Because these standards are designed to protect young people from unfair and inequitable scenarios, any coach who violates, or does not prevent violations, of these standards will be rendered ineligible to participate or be present at any MIAA approved or sponsored interscholastic competition in that sport for up to one year” If a violation is inadvertent or relatively minor, this penalty may be reduced by the Board of Directors, or its designee”

MSTCA Communication Piece:
This information was passed onto you as a service to make sure all of our coaches are aware of the MIAA rules and how they relate to this event.

Certification Procedure Changes:

	Individual athletes must be bona fide members of your high school team as recognized by the MIAA and must achieve the qualifying standards as published in this format.
	Qualifying performance must be obtained in a bona fide sanctioned MIAA High School Track Meet, officiated by certified track officials.
	The coach or official school representative must be able to provide performance verification at the meet. Acceptable forms of verification include a certification form (as found in the format) signed by a certified official, HYTEK performance list, meet results signed by certified official, league performance list.
	Failure to produce these verifications will result in competitors not being allowed to compete in the meet.
	Performances, that do not meet minimum qualifying times, will be challenged by the meet director.
	Other qualifying performances can be challenged throughout the meet.
	Any competitor found not to have met qualifying standards shall be disqualified from the event in question and the rest of the meet. A violation of qualifying criteria will involve follow up with school administration and may involve a hearing before the Track Committee.

Attention Athletic Directors and Coaches:
It is the athletic director and/or coaches' responsibility to correctly fill out all tournament entry forms. Tournament directors will make courtesy calls identifying errors whenever possible. However, this in no way places the responsibility for the entry form correctness with the tournament director. If there is an undetected error, the Athletic Director/Coach will accept the responsibility, even if the error means athlete(s) is/are ineligible to compete in the championship meet.

Attention Winter and Spring Coaches:
Do not send signed certification forms to meet directors. Please bring them on meet day to the site of the meet.

The MIAA and the MSTCA have joined together to help promote team sportsmanship. Please participate by sending in nomination forms that can be taken off the MIAA web site or can be picked up at the MSTCA Baystate Invitational Meet.

National Interscholastic Track and Field Championships-

Nike Cross Country Team Championship Meet

The last two years Nike Corporation has offered a Nike Cross Country Team Championship Meet. They created a system to invite the top teams in their view from around the country to compete in this meet. If you look at the results of the meet most of the teams compete as “clubs” at this meet. If a team were to be invited from Massachusetts that team would have to refuse the invitation. You could not play the game of creating a club and therefore travel under that name. The MIAA rule is very clear on this. It is rule 40.5.3 dealing with out of season coaching. It states, “At no time may the coach supervise any group or subgroup which includes 50% or more students who are among his/her candidates. (The MIAA Board of Directors advises that “sub-groups extends to the number of candidates who are actually playing or competing at any one time.)” An example of this would be that a coach feels that he or she might get a team invitation so they invite other local cross country athletes to join him at practice each day so that the number of athletes he is coaching has more than 50% not from his school. Then he/she would “select” his/her top 7 athletes to go to this meet. This would be illegal since the ruling deals with who is actually playing or competing at any one time and all of those selected in this example would be from his/her school.

You might also concern yourself with the punishment for breaking this rule…rule 40.7…states “Because these standards are designed to protect young people from unfair and inequitable scenarios, any coach who violates, or does not prevent violations, of these standards will be rendered ineligible to participate or be present at any MIAA approved or sponsored interscholastic competition in that sport for up to one year.” If a violation is inadvertent or relatively minor, this penalty may be reduced by the Board of Directors, or its designee.”

MSTCA Communication Piece: This information was passed onto you as a service to make sure all of our coaches are aware of the MIAA rules and how they relate to this event.

The MSTCA is concerned with how your athlete can participate in this event. For years we all have taken athletes to this type of meet and we have moved away from the guidelines that we must follow to protect our athletes. The National Interscholastic Championship meet is "not" sanctioned by the MIAA and never has been.

Your athlete can participate if they do the following:
     1. The fees for participation in that meet must be paid for by someone other
         than the school system or school booster club.
     2. All expenses connected to that event must be paid for by someone other
         than the school system.
     3. The athlete can "not" wear a school issued uniform or sweats.

If we follow these rules the MIAA will not take action against your athlete. We as an organization want our athletes to have the opportunity to compete in this type of meet. Please follow these simple rules and not jeopardize our right to participate in this meet.

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