WVSSAC Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Legislators Hear About Changes To State’s Sports Commission Rules

During their interim meeting at Marshall University Sunday, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability heard about several changes to rules and regulations governing the Secondary School Activities Commission.

Changes included a significant increase in the number of out-of-season activity days allowed for coaches to work with players, from 12 to 32 days, as well as changes to how suspensions after an ejection from a game are calculated.

Hank Hager, counsel to the Senate Education Committee, explained that suspensions would now be 10 percent of the season, regardless of when the infraction occurs. For sports like baseball and basketball that play the state maximum of 32 games, that would mean a three game suspension.

“I don’t necessarily want to condone the activity that gets somebody suspended, but at the same time I understand there’s emotion involved in sports,” said Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia. “That seems excessive to me, three games.”

Cindy Daniel, West Virginia SSAC assistant executive director, pointed out that there is a process in place for schools to appeal suspensions resulting from ejections.

Oliverio suggested that the West Virginia Legislature may change the suspension rule in a future session.

Among the changes are an expansion to student eligibility, including the implementation of recently passed House Bill 2820, which creates a pathway for Hope Scholarship recipients to play SSAC sports.

Senate Passes Bills On Alcohol, SSAC And EMS

The Senate passed 20 bills Monday on a variety of issues ranging from alcohol consumption to high school sports.

Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, said on the floor that Senate Bill 534 was intended as technical cleanup for a bill the Senate passed last year relating to beer, cider, wine, and liquor license requirements.

After changes in committee, and the addition of three floor amendments, the bill would expand how and where alcoholic beverages can be sold and enjoyed responsibly.

“It authorizes municipalities to establish private outdoor designated areas that are zoned for alcohol consumption in that area for alcohol drinks sold for by qualified permit holders, who are class A licensees,” Trump said. “The bill allows a product I’ve not heard of before, but I’m eager to learn about beer slushies. Maybe members of this body are familiar with the product? I don’t know. But the bill will permit that. It would be currently unpermitted under our present law.”

Trump stated that the changes would serve to promote tourism in the state. The bill had its detractors, but ultimately passed on a vote of 25 to 8.

Senate Bill 667 would require periodic performance audits by the legislative auditor of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, the main governing body of high school sports, cheerleading, and marching bands in the state.

There was a brief debate over the legality of such a bill.

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, stood to oppose the bill and raised concerns that the proposed oversight would not stand up to legal scrutiny.

“The Supreme Court of Appeals held that the WVSSAC is not a state agency. In fact, they went on to say it’s not even what’s called in the law public body,” Woelfel said. “So respectfully, I believe it’s an unconstitutional attempt by us to have an audit of an autonomous group. And that’s what the Supreme Court of West Virginia described the SSAC as.”

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, spoke in favor.

“What I think we’re trying to get here, with this piece of legislation, Mr. President, is a look under the hood of the agency that is responsible for all the activities in the state that our kids who attend high school partake in, any sports, whether they’re in the band,” he said. “An organization that has millions in assets.”

Senate Bill 737 was the second bill introduced Monday to deal with compensation for Emergency Medical Service workers.

Senate Finance Chair Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said the bill would create a special revenue account, the Emergency Medical Services Salary Enhancement Fund, to supplement the salaries of EMS workers across the state.

“The rules are to provide a mechanism for distribution of the funds to the county with the parameters of distribution to counties demonstrating the most need, counties who have a special levy, counties who have reached the maximum rate on a regular Levy and counties that suffer from competition from border states,” he said.

According to a state coalition of Emergency Medical Service workers that presented earlier in the legislative session, the state has lost 1900 EMTs over the past three years.

All three bills, along with 13 others, now go to the House of Delegates for its consideration.

Nearing Completion

The Senate also took up four bills originating in the House.

House Bill 2062 completed legislative action. If signed by Gov. Jim Justice, the bill would modify e-bike regulations to more closely conform to federal law and allow certain e-bikes to be operated on public lands. The bill also states that users of e-bikes would have the same rights and privileges as regular bicycles.

House Bill 3340, which modifies the state’s Tax Increment Financing system, also completed legislative action and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

The other two bills were amended on the Senate floor and will complete legislative action if the House concurs on the Senate’s amendments.
House Bill 3307 would establish the West Virginia-Ireland Trade Commission, and House Bill 3428 transitions the West Virginia Business Ready Sites Program from a pilot to a permanent status.

W.Va. Holds First High School Robotics Competition

Many of West Virginia’s Congressional delegation were in Fairmont Monday morning to commemorate the state’s first high school robotics competition.

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, as well as Rep. Carol Miller were at Fairmont State University Monday morning to cheer on high school teams from all over the state at the first West Virginia Robotics Championship.

“I’m really excited about what we see today,” Capito said. “The teams, they’re from all over the state, but they’re also different ages, and they’re also mixed boys and girls together. Everybody can participate here and mentor one another.”

Teamwork – both between humans and between humans and robots – was a focus of the comments delivered by Morgantown-born astronaut Andrew Morgan.

“Today, you’re here as a team, and you’ll win or lose as a team,” Morgan said. “But teams are made of great team players. As astronauts, we want crewmates that are great at being team players.”

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy was also on hand and highlighted the importance of robotics for upcoming lunar missions.

“What you’re doing today is incredibly important, because we’re going to do science differently on the surface of the moon,” Melroy said. “We think that the future of science in space is going to be human robotic teaming, meaning that you will work together with robots.”

This is the first year robotics is recognized as a high school co-curricular activity under the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission.

June 17, 1916: State Athletic Association Organized

On June 17, 1916, the West Virginia High School Athletic Association was organized in Charleston. The 11 charter members were Bluefield’s Beaver High School, Clarksburg’s Washington Irving High School, and Charleston, Elkins, Fairmont, Grafton, Huntington, Parkersburg, St. Marys, Sistersville, and Wheeling high schools.

The association gave high schools more control over their athletic activities. Previously, high school events had been organized by outside groups with little attention to rules, regulations, or eligibility requirements. Selected principals of member schools served as officers of the association.

In 1955, the organization changed its name to the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission. In 1967, the West Virginia Legislature recognized the SSAC, as it’s known, as a legal arm of county school boards.

Today, the SSAC makes rules and regulations governing its members’ interscholastic athletic and band activities. It sponsors state championships in basketball, track and field, baseball, football, wrestling, golf, tennis, cross-country, volleyball, softball, cheerleading, soccer, and swimming. The SSAC also holds clinics for coaches and officials; sets performance requirements for officials; presides over regional band festivals; maintains sportsmanship ratings for member schools; and administers academic achievement awards and scholarships.

School Board Close to Allowing Year-Round Coaching

The West Virginia Board of Education is close to passing a policy change that would allow year-round sports coaching.

The Charleston Gazette reports the board voted Wednesday to give the public 30 days to comment on the possible change. Current policy allows for only three weeks of out-of-season sports practice or related activities.

If approved by the state school board, likely at its July meeting, the change would allow coaching for middle and high school students to occur all year except for weekends, the week of July 4 and one week before the start of the sport’s season.

Martinsburg High School principal Trent Sherman, who proposed the change, says it would level the playing field for West Virginia students who play athletes from bordering states that have looser out-of-season rules.

State legislators concerned with head injuries

There’s been a lot of attention on how head injuries are affecting football players, and athletes, on all levels—including when they are very young. Stakeholders concerned about this issue hope new protocols will sufficiently prevent serious injuries.

Last year, the state legislature passed a measure that provides protocols for head injury protections for student athletes in West Virginia. These guidelines require coaches to have course training on head injuries and concussions, as well as being mandated to remove players from competition who are suspected of having concussions. It’s something that State Senator Ron Stollings said there’s a specific mission with these new rules.

“I think this bill is a good bill, we will see it being implemented as we speak. Me, being a volunteer physician on Friday nights, I have to take that educational piece myself. It’s a good thing,” said Stollings.

Also under the guidelines, a concussion and head injury sheet must be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete’s parents before practice or competition begins, to make officials aware of previous injuries. If a player has been removed from a game due to a head injury, that person may not return to action until he or she has written clearance from a licensed health care professional.

Gary Ray with the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission said these new guidelines give “teeth” to his organizations, and other interested parties, in protecting students. But he says parents must also play a role.

“I was guilty when I played sports, you didn’t want to tell mom or dad because you might not get to play the next day. You’ve got to let people know, you’ve got to communicate. Mom and Dad work with their child, they need to make sure they are in constant communication with the school if they feel this is an issue,” said Stollings.

Senator Stollings said he wants to make sure that all medical professionals like him, who administer to athletes during games, are protected from excess liability issues.

“I think just basically saying that volunteer physicians while at a volunteer event, Friday night football, that you would have coverage by the Board of Risk and Insurance Management,” said Stollings. “I’d like it to be spelled out in statute, that we’re covered, a volunteer physician.”

One final requirement of the new guidelines is that when students do suffer a concussion or head injury in a practice or game, a report must be sent from the school to the WVSSAC within 30 days of the injury. The report must state whether an evaluation, done by a medical professional, verifies that a concussion has occurred. This report must also state how many days it’s been between the injury and athlete’s return to competition.