May 21, 2007

TO: Superintendent of Schools, High School Principal, Athletic Director

Middle School Principal, High School Girls’ Basketball Coach

SUBJECT: Basketball Bench Decorum Rule, Coaching Conduct

Coaches Rating of Officials, Practice Eligibility

At its May 19, 2007 meeting, the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union Board of Directors voted unanimously to change the bench decorum rule for girls’ basketball coaches, effective with the 2007-08 school year.

A complete copy of the new bench decorum rule is enclosed with this letter. In summary, the Board approved adopting the “seat belt” bench decorum rule which is currently utilized in the boy’s game in Iowa, with two modifications. First, coaches will be allowed to stand and confer with a player(s) whenever the clock is not running. Second, the coach may rise to congratulate a disqualified player, and walk the confines of the team bench to select a replacement. The Iowa High School Athletic Association Board of Control will consider these same modifications at its upcoming meeting, which, if approved, would provide for identical bench decorum rules in girls and boys basketball beginning in 2008.

The change was prompted by continued pleas from school administrators, and in response to increasing examples of basketball coaches displaying unsportsmanlike behavior when standing during play.

COACHING CONDUCT

The Board of Directors is asking all school administrators to remind coaches to display appropriate conduct when addressing players. For example, our staff witnessed multiple instances at the 2007 state basketball tournament of coaches physically grabbing students, and coaches using exceedingly inappropriate language when addressing players, both individually and during sideline huddles.

The Board of Directors asks each school to remind all of its coaches of their role as educators. Physical intimidation or swearing directed at students has no place in education, or in educational athletics. Each school district, as employer of its coaches, is responsible to ensure its employees act in an appropriate manner in our educational environment. We cannot tolerate on our sidelines what we would not tolerate in our classrooms.

COACHES RATING OFFICIALS

The Board of Directors voted to end the practice of coaches rating game officials, effective immediately. The original intent of coaches rating officials was to provide officials with a tool to understand how their performance is judged by coaches, and to provide the Athletic Union with a method to determine which officials should advance forward during the tournament series. However some officials admitted to not calling games within the intent or spirit of the rules so as not to risk a “poor” rating, and some coaches acknowledged using the ratings in a punitive manner against officials.

In place of the numerical coaches’ ratings, each school will be asked to recommend a number of officials which it feels should be selected to officiate in the tournament series. Those who receive the most recommendations will be selected for the tournament series, and will be advanced through the tournament based on those recommendations.

BOYS PRACTICING WITH GIRLS’ TEAMS

Effective immediately, boys are not permitted to take part in practice against girls. This rule applies to all interscholastic teams in grades 7-12. Boys are currently restricted from participating on a girls team, and this rule now extends that restriction to practice.

Some schools choose to bring boys into a girls’ team practice to provide a “higher” level of competition for the girl’s team. The Board of Directors believes that limiting the opportunities for girls to participate in their own sport practices while boys are taking part in those very practices is not in the best interests of female athletic participation.

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS PRACTICING WITH HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS

Effective with the 2007-08 school year, 8^th grade students are not allowed to practice against students in grades 9-12 in sports other than softball. The Board of Directors will allow schools which do not have enough students in their high school program to conduct a practice using 8^th graders. In that case, 8^th grade teams must be completely combined with the high school team in a practice. Note: This does not allow selected 8^th grade individuals to practice with the high school team, but rather allows the entire 8^th grade team to be combined with the high school team for the purpose of practicing. Further, the rule does not restrict schools from continuing to combine middle and high school practices in sports such as cross country where students are not practicing against each other, but rather practice with each other. Additional interpretations will be published in the IGHSAU sport regulations manual this fall.

As noted above, this restriction does not impact softball. Effective in 2008, and as a result of the move forward in the softball calendar, 8^th grade students will remain eligible to practice with the softball team on the first allowable practice date and remain eligible to play with the high school team on the first allowable game date. This dispensation is provided for 8^th graders since the bulk of the season runs into the summer months. Eighth grade students may not participate in interscholastic competition with the high school team in any other sport.

Please note that 7^th graders are never allowed to practice against 9-12 grade students.

Sixth grade students may never practice with or compete against 7-12 grade students during the school year. In the summer following sixth grade, those students may practice and play on a school sponsored 7-8 grade summer softball team.

Please contact our office should you have any questions about these new regulations. They will be integrated into all of our policy manuals and our web site throughout the summer should additional clarification be necessary ahead of the 2007-08 school year.

Respectfully,

Troy Dannen

Executive Director

enclosure