Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Minutes

February 13, 2019

Meeting was called to order with the following members present: Sydney Hartsock, Sydney Lane, Carly Campbell, Faith Carpenter, Halle Brester, Jasmine Rumley, Payton Douglass and Riley Bell.  Jean Berger, Gary Ross, Jason Eslinger, and Lisa Brinkmeyer represented the IGHSAU.

Brinkmeyer welcomed the Committee and asked that each member share something unique about themselves with the Committee. It was a fun activity to get to know more about those serving on the Committee.

In the September meeting the Committee stated they would like their focus to be on sportsmanship. The first agenda item was to develop a sportsmanship message to be sent to schools to read at their local events (see attached).  The Committee developed three different messages comprised of their main components they feel were most symbolic of sportsmanship.  After the messages are completed, Committee members read the messages for a video spot. The videos will be played at various IGHSAU State Tournaments.

Next the Committee developed a poster to be sent to schools for display in female locker rooms.  Committee members created a list of words and phrases they felt would inspire them and their peers.  It was decided to incorporate the following words within the phrase “You are…  …The Iowa Girl”… Smart, Ready, Kind, Strong and Important.  The Committee wanted action shots of each of the IGHSAU sanctioned sports to be faded into the background with the state of Iowa outlining the entire poster.  Heidi Reed made a mock-up of their idea during the meeting.  Committee viewed the mock-up and made a few minor changes, with ultimately approving the final product.  Brinkmeyer will coordinate mailing the posters to schools in March so they can be in place for the spring sports seasons.

Committee members continued showing their creativity with the creation of a State Basketball Tournament student section cheer competition, which they named School Spirit Showdown. The School Spirit Showdown is a chance for schools’ student sections to face-off by showing their school spirit with a 20-second cheer/chant during their quarterfinal game at state.

At the State Basketball Tournament, a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member will meet with the activities director and their appointed student section leader(s) prior to the game.  The visiting team’s student section will perform their cheer/chant first, followed immediately by the home team’s student section.

A letter was devised to be sent to state-qualifying activities directors explaining the Showdown and what their role will be in the event. Activities directors were asked to:

  • Speak with their student section leader(s) OR someone they felt could represent their school in a positive manner and serve as the student section leader for the Showdown.
  • Have their student section come up with a 20-second appropriate cheer/chant that represents their school’s spirit in a positive manner.
  • Finally, approve the cheer/chant prior to it being used at the School Spirit Showdown.

Brinkmeyer will distribute the letter to state-qualifying activities directors after their teams have qualified.

The Committee ended the meeting with the recording of the sportsmanship messages.

With no further business, meeting adjourned at 2:00 pm. The next meeting date will be Wednesday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m. with the location TBD.

Lisa Brinkmeyer
IGHSAU