OHSAA Board of Directors meeting highlights

The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors met Thursday at the OHSAA Office for its August meeting, which marked the first board meeting of the 2012-13 school year. The following are highlights from the meeting. The complete set of meeting minutes will be posted at a later date at OHSAA.org.
- There are 824 member high schools in 2012-13. Of note, there are two new schools (Cincinnati College Preparatory and Cincinnati James N. Gamble Montessori), while four schools did not renew membership (Cleveland Horizon Science Academy, Orrville Kingsway Christian, Sidney Christian Academy and Cleveland School of the Arts).
- A report from the OHSAA's Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee included information about new resources that will be sent to member schools regarding the Respect the Game program. In September, member schools will receive Respect the Game posters and information about how to receive a Respect the Game banner for their gymnasium, which is one part of the three-tiered Harold A. Meyer school sportsmanship awards program.
o Respect the Game Website: http://www.ohsaa.org/RTG/default.htm
- The financial reports from the 2012 wrestling, girls basketball and boys basketball tournaments were presented to the board. Attendance at the wrestling state tournament was 50,443 (down from 52,688 in 2011) and turned a profit of $177,051. Attendance at the girls basketball state tournament was 33,416 (nearly identical to 2011) and turned a profit of $3,076. Attendance at the boys basketball state tournament was 112,830 (up from 109,805 in 2011) and turned a profit of $794,916. Of note, approximately 80 percent of the OHSAA's operating budget comes from gate receipts at regional and state tournaments. The OHSAA does not charge annual membership dues, does not collect tournament entry fees and does not accept any tax dollars.
- Two member schools were recently penalized for committing violations of OHSAA bylaws or sports regulations. The list of schools, along with their infractions and penalties, will be included in the complete meeting minutes, but media members may obtain the list earlier by emailing Tim Stried, OHSAA Director of Information Services.
- The regional and state tournament draws in soccer and volleyball were held and will be posted on their respective sport pages at OHSAA.org. In addition, the list of regional and state cross country sites was approved and is posted on the cross country page at OHSAA.org.
- The OHSAA's Joint Advisory Committee on Sports Medicine has selected Dr. David Weldy from Toledo Rogers High School to receive the 2012 Outstanding Team Physician Award.
- The board approved the fall sports manuals, which are posted on each of the respective sport pages at OHSAA.org.