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There may not have been quite the hot button issues like we saw last year when the 5-Division basketball proposal and District Football Plans took center stage, but nonetheless the agenda was packed for today's WIAA Area Meeting held at the American Legion Hall in Barneveld. This was the first of seven Area Meetings to be held in each district in the state.

After a welcome message from Mineral Point principal and District 5 Board of Control representative Ted Evans, Executive Director Dave Anderson started things with an open forum period. Topics brought up by the athletic directors and other school administrators in attendance included an adjustment to the state baseball and softball schedules, a reconfigured enrollment formula for co-ops, reduced player football, four divisions for track, spring vs. summer baseball, and a request for relief from the WIAA Transfer Rule.

The Transfer Rule brought about a bit of discussion, and it was interesting to note that Anderson indicated Deputy Director Wade Labecki processed about 1,000 waiver requests last year. It was not immediately clear what percentage of those were approved. Anderson did note that one of the key factors in approving a transfer request was appropriate and reliable documentation. He indicated the philosophy was about helping the student-athletes. "Look for ways to make kids eligible," is the mantra in those situations.

Several highly publicized events in the last year have led to what the WIAA feels are incorrect perceptions about what the organization is and how it operates. Assembly Bill 520 was advanced earlier this year that would have made it illegal for schools to belong to the WIAA unless the organization abided by all Open Records Laws. The bill quickly died without passing out of the committee process with much less fanfare than when it was initially created, but negative attention still came to the WIAA. The organization's on-going legal battle with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and the Gannet Media Group has also been a point of contention.

Anderson encouraged member schools to positively promote their programs and communicate to their communities that the WIAA is a non-profit, member-driven organization with voluntary participation whose revenue comes from outside normal school and governmental budgets. Only about 6% of WIAA revenue comes from member dues, while about 85-90% comes from state tournaments. He also pointed out that most schools pay more to be members of their conferences than they do the WIAA. Another interesting fact is that $3.5 million of the $8 million WIAA budget is returned to member schools in the form of travel and tournament hosting reimbursement.

Items that may be up for discussion as Constitutional changes in 2011 include a uniform state athletic code or perhaps increased minimum standards, a review of the Exceptional Athlete Waiver, and summer contact for soccer. Dual participation, meaning playing for a school and non-school team at the same time, was discussed and the potential for it to be allowed at the middle level. Only about 100 schools are in the WIAA at the middle level, compared to 506 at the senior high level.

Following a review of WIAA concussion rules and new NFHS regulations regarding concussions, the discussion focused on the RefRanking system piloted in wrestling last year that will be extended to basketball this season. The feedback was very favorable in wrestling with some of the advantages being online evaluation of officials, photos of officials, and a mandatory three-day wait before being able to rate a referee. Another bonus is the ability for officials to enter their availability in the system to be searchable by event managers looking to fill dates.

Several recent changes to sport specific rules were discussed and clarified. The 5-Division basketball proposal was passed by the Board of Control in June, with details continuing to emerge. Coach surveys are being collected currently to determine if each sectional will be seeded or if by more traditional regional (half-bracket) groupings. If 25% or more vote to seed by the half-bracket, than that will be the process for that particular sectional. Also, WIAA Associate Director Deb Hauser indicated there is still discussion of allowing higher seeded teams to host through the regional level before going to pre-determined sites at sectional play. Under the old system, regional finals were also pre-determined.

Also, as expected, the WIAA will utilize a two session format for the state championships on Saturday. A three-game session of Division 5, 4, and 3 will begin at 11:05. Starting at 6:35 will be Division 2 followed by Division 1.

Much discussion centered on the WIAA's decision to move the start date for football up by five days beginning in 2011 to alleviate the 3 games in 10 days situation at the end of the season. A Wisconsin Football Coaches Association survey done after the BOC vote was announced by Lancaster head coach and athletic director John Hoch. The results indicated 322 of the 344 coaches (94%) who responded favored eliminating one game and going to an eight game schedule. Concerns about limiting an already short summer period for both coaches and players was the overriding factor for most coaches to vote that way. Only 22 of 344 (6%) favored moving the start date up. With such a lop-sided vote, several administrators in attendance indicated the season start date change should be reviewed. Executive Director Dave Anderson indicated because of advance scheduling, any change to the BOC's decision to push the start date up would almost certainly not be possible for 2011. WIAA staff are expected to gauge feedback on the topic throughout the Area Meetings, and it could be advanced to the committee process again this fall.