MSHSL board meeting: That's a wrap

By John Millea

12:45 update

The meeting is winding down as committee reports are being heard. This is boilerplate stuff. The gavel should drop in a matter of minutes.

The "news" from this meeting was encapsulated in the 12:01 update, seen below.

That's a wrap

12:01 update

The MSHSL board has moved throuugh some issues and corresponding votes pretty quickly. Here's a summary:

--If H1N1 or a similar outbreak occurs, as much flexibility in scheduling as possible will be used in ensuring games take place. If competitors in individual events are unable to compete due to illness, or if teams cannot put together enough players to compete, events will be forfeited.

--For state football games in which play is halted due to weather conditions, unworking lights, lack of lights, etc., the game will be continued from the point of stoppage at a later date, unless both teams agree to terminate the game. --Recently imposed limits on the numbers of scrimmages was adjusted to allow alumni to come back and work out with current athletes; it's common for college wrestlers to work out at their high school over holiday breaks. Thus ends the "Action Items" portion of the meeting, which will roll on through "Discussion Items" and committee reports ...

11:23 update

MSHSL associate director Jody Redman has given the board an update on the "Anyone Can Save a Life" program. It's a program devoted to educating school staff and students on life-saving skills needed in the case of sudden cardiac arrest.

Redman has given presentations about the program all over the state and in several national settings.The MSHSL, in partnership with the Medtronic Foundation, will begin offering information about the program to similar state associations around the nation.

10:23 update

Still no big headlines out of this meeting. But there is this interesting tidbit ...

MSHSL staff members are giving brief reviews of the fall state tournaments. The most interesting comment came from associate director Kevin Merkle, who is in charge of the state football playoffs. He didn't name which schools were involved, but it was clear he was talking about the Class 4A quarterfinal game between Sartell and St. Thomas Academy at the Metrodome when he said, "We would have had to admit we made a mistake."

That was a reference to a two-point conversion by St. Thomas Academy in the final minutes of the game. I was standing on the goal line when the runner's knee hit the turf before the ball crossed the goal line. The officials, however, called it good. Sartell came back to win on a field goal in the final seconds. Had St. Thomas Academy "won" the game on that two-point conversion, it would have been a great big mess.

Original post

In perusing the information packet that is at each board member's seat, it looks like the following will be discussed:

--A policy for dealing with uniform adornments, such as during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.

--Contingency plans in case an H1N1 outbreak affects subsection, section and state tournaments.

I'll post any pertinent updates. This should be a quiet meeting.