by Don Rich, DyeStat correspondent

According to PIAA Assistant Executive Director Jodi Good, the state associations of Pennsylvania and New York have reached an agreement to enable non-member schools from any state to compete against NY athletes in any event in any sport in PA. The breakthrough agreement, worked out in a telephone conference Tuesday, involved PIAA Executive Director Bradley Cashman and NYSPHSAA Executive Director Nina Van Erk, along with NY Assistant Executive Director Lloyd Mott.

The agreement does not include out-of-state meets, such as those at the New York Armory in New York. But it is major progress.

The process worked out will utilize the PIAA document that enables Pennsylvania's non-member schools to compete against PIAA schools. Known as the Supplement to Contract, it spells out the major eligibility standards of the PIAA, and with appropriate signatures, indicates that the non-member school will abide by PIAA rules.

The initial list of who has been invited to a meet - such as the Penn Relays Carnival - is sent to the PIAA, which then forwards the list to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Closer to the event, the final list of participants is sent directly to the NFHS, with the notation "recommend for participation" added by the host/meet management beside the names of non-member schools who have completed and signed the Supplement. NFHS then distributes the final list to the appropriate state associations for review. Good says the "recommend for participation" is then seen as a flag that the Supplement to Contract has been signed by the non-member school.

Good indicated that the PIAA was "very pleased that New York schools will be able to participate in events such as the Penn Relays."

But there is positive action on more than the Pennsylvania front.

In Maryland, Executive Director Ned Sparks says they have been in discussions with New York officials. "We've had some good conversations. I'm feeling confident that we can come to some understanding."

And on the national front... a new idea and collaboration between NFHS and USATF.

NFHS Assistant Director Cynthia Doyle says there are discussions underway between NFHS and USATF to create what could be termed a new type of sanctioning. The USATF would identify certain meets that the USATF would be using "to identify elite athletes for possible future Olympic trials." Those meets would then be published so that states would know that those meets have a different status.

Doyle indicated that most state associations have some kind of exemption process that could be used to provide sanctioning for those meets, whether it's for specific events, or an entire meet. Details are far from final.

The discussions first began last summer and involved USATF, the NFHS and representatives of high school track & field, soccer and swimming to try to open a dialogue between USATF and the state associations. "Since both NFHS and USATF are located in Indianapolis, it was very convenient," Doyle says. "We have met one time formally since then, and while another one is not scheduled, it should be soon."

Any agreement would have to be approved by the National Governing Body of USATF, and NFHS.

Doyle believes track & field, because of it's distinct seasons, is the perfect testing ground for such cutting edge thinking. "It won't be in place for this year, but it could be for next year," Doyle concluded. "But it's the best progress we're going to make right now."

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