The MIAA Board of Directors held a meeting via conference call Monday morning to vote on a number of recommendations made by the MIAA Tournament Management Committee (TMC) concerning the Spring 2020 season. All votes were held with the understanding that the school year is still slated to reopen on May 4. The Board of Directors held seven total votes related to scheduling, tournaments and coach-player contact during the meeting, which lasted just over one hour.
The first vote held was on the recommendation that there only be sectional tournaments for the spring season, which was unanimously passed by a vote of 18-0. In a related vote, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to decide dates for the end of the regular season, the tournament seedings and the tournament schedule. The cutoff date for the regular season will be June 12, with the seedings conducted the following day on June 13. The tournament will end no later than June 27.
The qualifying rules of the tournament were discussed further during the meeting, but no vote was needed to change the current rules. In order to qualify for the tournament, teams will need to have a .500 record. The Sullivan Rule — which qualifies teams for the tournament if they have at least a .500 record against teams in higher divisions — also remains in place.
But, not all tournaments will be played. There were a series of votes held in regard to recommendations made by the TMC, one of which being to cancel the Division 1A “Super 8” baseball tournament. The motion was passed unanimously, 18-0.
The track season was given an extended cutoff to June 21, with sectional meets to be held on June 27 and the pentathlon — which will be a part of each team’s scoring in sectionals — to be held on June 25. There will be no state tournaments, and Mass. track athletes would not be able to compete in New England Regionals — if held — as a result. The vote passed unanimously, 18-0.
Spring golf was also subject to a bit of a change, with the Board of Directors voting unanimously to make the cutoff date for golf June 11 due to the availability of the golf courses on short notice. There will be only sectional tournaments for golf, with no state tournaments taking place. Individual tournaments will be held as a part of the team sectional tournaments.
The Board of Directors also voted unanimously to hold only a team tournament for tennis, with no individual tournaments. The ruling was made with the approval of the MIAA tennis committee.
In another unanimous decision, the Board of Directors voted to waive Rule 40 of the MIAA Handbook — which deals with out-of-season contact between players and coaches — for the Spring 2020 season. Coaches will be allowed to contact players on a limited basis before the season begins, with some condition.
The final issue of the day dealt with a decision that had been made at the previous Board of Directors meeting on March 30. At the time, the Board had voted for a waiver allowing physical examinations to be extended or done virtually before May 4 in order to be eligible for the spring season. The Board has since been informed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that the decision is outside the MIAA’s jurisdiction, and as such the Board will wait for action from the Department of Public Health on the matter.
The next Board of Directors meeting is pending, as it was originally scheduled for May 5. With the possible reopening of school on May 4, the Board decided to await further guidance from the state before scheduling any more meetings, if they will be necessary at all.