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Will the Format of NYSPHSAA State Meets in Cross Country and Track & Field Be Changed by the NY Legislature? The Section V Indoor Track web-site brought this to my attention ... A bill has been introduced into both the NY Assembly (Bill A2162) and NY Senate (Bill S2064) that would change the participation make-up of intersectional State championship tournaments ... the actual Bill A2162 is shown below (along with its Summary). The NYSPHSAA President (Kathyrn P. Faber) has written a letter in opposition of the bill ... her letter is shown below. In essence, the bill says that the current intersectional tournament make-up (all sports) is unfair because the the eleven geographical sections allow "disproportionate" representation ... that is, some sections have vastly more athletes than other sections, and are not fairly represented at State tournaments. If these bills are passed and signed into law, I wonder what the State Cross Country and State Track Meets will look like (Federations also). |
Assembly Bill 2162: ( http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02162&sh=t ) S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 2162 2005-2006 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y January 25, 2005 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MORELLE, SANDERS, ORTIZ, SEDDIO, ROBINSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DelMONTE, PHEFFER, TOWNS, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to promote interscholastic athletic programs and competition that provides equal opportunities to all students on basis of athleticism, sportsmanship and performance THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. This act shall be know as the "Fairness in high school 2 athletic competition act". 3 S 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that interscho- 4 lastic athletic programs promote positive social, physical and academic 5 development in students. Furthermore, students who excel at interscho- 6 lastic sports may be afforded athletic scholarships and/or weighted 7 consideration when applying to colleges. Since this system allows such 8 benefits for athletic excellence, the methods by which interscholastic 9 athletic competitions are conducted must provide equal opportunities for 10 all students to compete. No priority should be given to students or 11 school programs, with regard to representation at interscholastic cham- 12 pionship events, based on geography or any other factors unrelated to 13 the standards of athletic competition and sportsmanship. Any system for 14 determining participation in championship events, which is utilized by 15 the public schools of the state of New York, must be accountable to the 16 student athletes, and provide a fair opportunity to compete based on 17 athleticism, sportsmanship and performance in qualifying events. 18 The legislature finds that the current system utilized by the public 19 schools of the state of New York does not meet this standard. For the 20 purposes of high school sports, the state is divided into eleven 21 sections. These regions consist of a number of schools, which compete 22 within a single section, for rights to represent that section in higher 23 level championship events. The sections, however, are severely EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets { } is old law to be omitted. LBD05526-01-5 A. 2162 2 1 disproportionate, and for certain sports representation at championship 2 events favors athletes who compete in sections with fewer schools. The 3 legislature further finds that talented athletes, who may rank at the 4 top of statewide standings, are unable to compete in championship 5 events, while lesser athletes from smaller sections have qualified. In 6 some sports, these students are disenfranchised by their geography, and 7 an inadequate system used to determine qualifying athletes. 8 Additionally, the legislature finds that, outside of New York city, 9 the public schools of New York state participate as members of the New 10 York state public high schools athletic association. The organizational 11 structure of the New York state public high schools athletic association 12 does not allow for equitable representation of its voting members based 13 on the number of schools each voting member represents. Each section, 14 regardless of the number of participating schools per sport, shares an 15 equal voice in deciding championship standards. The legislature finds 16 that this disproportionate representation unfairly discriminates against 17 student athletes from larger sections. 18 The legislature intends, by enactment of this law, to require equal 19 opportunity for high school athletes to participate in championship 20 events, that is based solely on athleticism, sportsmanship and perform- 21 ance in qualifying events. 22 S 3. No system for determining participation in championship inter- 23 scholastic athletic events shall be used by the public schools of New 24 York state, unless such system provides a fair and equitable opportunity 25 for students to participate in championship events based on athleticism, 26 sportsmanship and performance in qualifying events. Furthermore, any 27 system implemented must defer from using a geographically based entry 28 format, unless such system applies a multiple-entry format that provides 29 proportional representation of the geographic regions or sections. 30 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately. |
A02162 Summary: ( http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02162 ) SAME AS Same as S 2064 (Senate Bill) SPONSOR Morelle COSPNSR Sanders, Ortiz, Seddio, Robinson, Tokasz MLTSPNSR DelMonte, Pheffer, Towns, Weisenberg Promotes interscholastic athletic programs and competition that provides equal opportunities to all students on the basis of athleticism, sportsmanship and performance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A02162 Actions: 01/25/2005 referred to education -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A02162 Votes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A02162 Memo: TITLE OF BILL: An act to promote interscholastic athletic programs and competition that provides equal opportunities to all students on basis of athleticism, sportsmanship and performance PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that al equitable system for determining eligibility for partic- ipation in championship interscholastic athletic events be employed by any entity which New York State public schools might use to organize such events. SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one proclaims that this bill shall be known and cited as the "Fairness in High School Athletic Competition Act." Section two of the bill provides the legislative intent. Section three of the bill requires that no system for determining participation in championship interscholastic athletic events shall be used by the public schools of New York State unless such system provides a fair and equitable opportunity for students to participate in champi- onship events based only on athleticism, sportsmanship and performance in qualifying events. Section four of the bill makes the legislation take effect immediately. JUSTIFICATION: Currently, most of New York State`s public schools are members of the New York State Public High Schools Athletic Association (NYSPHAA). NYSPHAA employs a voting structure that does not provide for proportional representation based on the number of schools in a section. In cases of some sports, where there are vastly disproportionate numbers of schools participating in a particular sport, student athletes in sections with fewer schools enjoy a greater chance to qualify for cham- pionship competitions. The impact that this may have on a student`s future athletic career, including statewide standing and collegiate recruitment and scholarships, is not justifiable in a public education system. This legislation seeks to ensure that all students have an ability to qualify for such events based on their athletic talent, and performance in qualifying events, rather than geography. It complements the philoso- phy behind the public education system: that all students have an equal opportunity to learn. While not run by New York`s public schools, inter- scholastic athletic programs participated in by our schools must conform to standards of equality. PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Undetermined EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately |
| Letter from the
NYSPHSAA President ... (from
the Section V Indoor Track web-site)
February 11, 2005 |