[Eighth in a series on sanctioning and its impact on
the high school athletes
the rules are intended to help.
See Sanctioning Crisis series index.]
by Don Rich, DyeStat correspondent
At the heart of the current sanctioning discussions - and sometimes
arguments that threaten to disrupt major meets for many seasons to come
- are the rules of eligibility.
Casual and experienced observers of the sport just can't imagine that
there isn't an easy solution out there somewhere. After all, there's
a national organization whose job it is to guide the state associations.
And if you look closely at all the rules of the games the athletes play,
there don't seem to be many problems agreeing on those rules - the rules
of competition. A staggered start is a staggered start.
But the solution to the eligibility problems has become a problem of
staggering proportion.
Simply, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS),
exists to establish and interpret the rules of competition. And when
it comes to those rules, most states have signed off on, and voluntarily
adhere to, the entire rulebook. If they don't, they get a sanctioning
of sorts - more on that in a minute.
It's when you enter the gray world of eligibility that things get strange.
NFHS is responsible for establishing and interpreting the rules of competition
in 16 high school sports. The individual states - along with every league,
association or school that operates independently of the single NFHS-affiliated
association in their state - are responsible for establishing and interpreting
the rules of eligibility in each of those sports.
No wonder it's confusing.
According to NFHS Assistant Director Cynthia Doyle, the organization
has some strong influence when it comes to the rules of competition.
If a state association decides they would like to deviate from the those
rules, "... they forfeit their chance to sit on our committee that
changes those rules. We have a few states that don't comply on number
of events." According to the 2004 General Track Survey - a thorough
NFHS study of everything from how many states use the Chip at their
state meet, to the number of events an athlete may enter at their state
meet - shows that more than 20% of the states permit participation in
five and more events. Most meet the NFHS rule of four or fewer events,
so they get to interpret the rules.
But that's an entirely different issue than eligibility.
Because the state associations affiliated with NFHS are essentially
private entities; with some administered by the state department of
education; every state, according to Doyle, "has the autonomy to
determine who represents them in meets."
The bottom line is, when it comes to allowing homeschool athlete participation,
competition against non-member schools, middle school varsity participation,
and every other standard of eligibility - it's the states that are in
charge.
It's not simple. But it does explain why solutions will not be as easy
as you'd think, Then again, solutions may be as simple as one person
calling another.
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