Valid or not, these suggestions provide another wake-up call for those who claim [and I am one of them] that school-sponsored sports are healthy for the participants, school, and community.

I want to tell you that student-athletes were not part of the many and complex causes of the Columbine tragedy, but they can play a small part of the solution to help assure such craziness does not occur closer to home.

As a result, my message to student-athletes of your schools is this:

• Break down the walls, real or perceived, between the athletes of your schools and other students. Avoid cliques limited to team members or even athletes in general.
• When you walk the school halls and shopping malls, greet fellow students warmly, regardless of their involvement in school sports or other activities. let them know that you know they exist.
• Become more sensitive to the needs of others, especially those who are different than you. Appreciate that while you may be more gifted in some things, other students are more gifted than you in other things. Show a genuine interest in those things.
• Understand that you are not the center of the universe. Accept the fact that it is your role to serve others, and not the other way around.
• Don’t look down on, but concentrate on, the rich worth of other people. Seek them out. Involve them. Enter into their worlds and invite them into yours until such time as it is difficult to recognize different worlds in your school and community.

I believe the following goals(s) for the interscholastic athletic program, embraced by every administrator, participant and parent, would help us: that every participant be involved in academic and non-academic matters; athletic and non-athletic activities; be a star in one thing and a substitute in another; be on stage and backstage; in solo and ensemble; experiencing both winning and losing.

A student involved in such experiences as these could not help but to provide glue and grace to a student body.

No student-athlete or anyone in Rhode Island is remotely responsible for the massacre in Littleton, Colorado. But student-athletes everywhere have an opportunity to be a small part of an environment that assures that such a tragedy is not repeated where you live, study, and play.

It is all about respect, being sensitive to others, and concentrating on the abundant worth of other people --- whether or not they share the same beliefs and interests as you.

Dangerous products sold as dietary supplements for bodybuilding, weight loss, and sleep aids have been linked to deaths and severe sickness requiring hospitalization. These products are made from chemicals named:

• gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)
• gamma butyrolactone (GBL)
• and 1, 4 butanediol (BD)

The No Taunting Pledge

I will pledge to be part of the solution

I will eliminate taunting from my own behavior.

I will encourage others to do the same.

I will do my part to make community a safe place by being more sensitive to others.

I will set the example of a caring individual.

I will eliminate profanity towards others from my language.

I will not let my words or actions hurt others.

And if others won’t become part of the solution, I will.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has announced that Inside High School Sports, a new weekly national high school sports news magazine show produced by Host Communications for FOX Sports Net, in partnership with NFHS, began September 7 on FOX Sports Net’s regional networks across the country.

Scheduled for a 15-week run this fall in its debut season, Inside High School Sports offers features and in-depth looks at life on and off the fields of competition. Athlete profiles, coaches’ interviews and unique features on the personalities behind the games will comprise the half-hour, weekly show.

Inside High School Sports airs on Tuesdays at 4 pm local time during September, and then on Wednesdays at 5 pm local time beginning in October. Stand-up comedian and television veteran Paul Miller serves as the show’s host, and the former three-sport high school competitor brings his love of high school sports to the screen.

"We’ve had such tremendous success regionally with high school sports programming, including shows of this nature that showcase the special aspects of the student-athletes, coaches and programs that make high school sports so special," said Arthur Smith, executive vice-president for programming and production for FOX Sports Net. "Inside High School Sports is a natural extension of that success. The resources of FOX Sports Net will provide a national platform on which to expose high school sports to a broader audience."

Inside High School Sports serves as a complement to FOX Sports Net Southwest’s successful regional High School Xtra weekly series that profiles top prep sports stories in Texas.

"FOX Sports Net’s track record around the country as a supporter and telecast network for high school sports is well-known," said Robert F. Kanaby, NFHS executive director. "To bring national exposure to the complete scope of high school athletics through this vehicle is a win for all states and all schools. We’re pleased to have partnered with FOX Sports Net and Host Communications in the development of this exciting new show."

FOX Sports Net reaches more than 68 million homes through 22 regional sports networks.

The Councils on Standards for International Education Travel (CSIET) was formed in 1984 in response to a need for standards and a monitoring process in the student exchange and travel field. Their mission is to identify reputable international youth exchange programs, to provide leadership and support to he exchange and educational communities so that youth are provided with meaningful and safe international exchange experiences. Each year the CSIET collects data from exchange organizations as to where inbound exchange students are placed in the United States. Exchange students are being placed in great numbers in various regions around the country. The top ten states where exchange students are placed are:

The CSIET recently has expanded its membership base to individual high schools. A special membership for $25 is being offered to high schools. We encourage our member high schools to join. In return, the schools will receive direct and timely information on exchange programs. The two copies of the CSIET Advisory List (normally $15.00 a piece) sent to school members make the membership a bargain. Each principal’s and athletic director’s office should have this resource on hand.

This is your best High School resource for International Youth Exchange Programs!

CSIET is the only private organization which serves as a resource for U. S. high schools about international youth exchange programs.

Join CSIET for only $25 and your school will receive:

The opportunity to evaluate the international youth exchange programs that work with your school.

Two complimentary copies of the CSIET Advisory List. The CSIET Advisory List is published each year and includes only those organizations whose programs meet the CSIET standards.

Updates, newsletters, school-related articles, legislative changes, and more!

Call CSIET at (703)739-9050 or send email to exchange@aol.com or visit our web site at www.csiet.org for more information.

CSIET is a not for profit agency which established standards to govern the practices of international youth exchange programs, provides ongoing monitoring and annually evaluates those programs as a service to schools and the general public.

Objectives: This study determined the incidence of orofacial injuries in athletes attending seven Minnesota high schools who participated in varsity soccer, wrestling, and basketball during the 1996-97 academic year.

Methods: Incidence was determined through (1) athlete written surveys and (2) athletic trainer records.

Results: Survey response rates ranged from 86.3 percent to 94.0 percent among schools for all sports. The incidence rate + SD of at least one orofacial injury per athlete in a season was 27.6 percent+20.2 in soccer (n=116), 72.3 percent+9.3 in wrestling (n=101), and 55.4 percent+23.9 in basketball (n=101). Ten percent of athletes sustained dental injuries. Fixed orthodontic appliances posed a higher risk for sustaining an injury in all sports. The games to practices ratios were 6.8 (soccer), 1.2 (wrestling), and 1.8 (basketball). Half of the athletes believed mouthguards prevent injuries; however, six percent of the athletes reported mouthguard use. Athletic trainers reported eight orofacial injuries.

Conclusions: The substantial rate of orofacial injuries among high school athletes participating in soccer, wrestling, and basketball need to be minimized. Dentists should routinely inquire about sports participation from their adolescent patients. Policies should be developed to require school officials to report orofacial injuries, to inform athletes of their risk for orofacial injuries, and to consider mandated mouthguard use for these athletes.

On February 24, 1993, Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) members implemented the first mandatory mouthguard rule in the nation for high school athletes participating in the contact sports of boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, and wrestling. Implementation of the new rule soon encountered resistance within the community. Fourteen months later, the MSHSL board members rescinded the mandatory mouthguard decision. Among the reasons for the rule’s demise was the devoid of scientific data available on the frequency of orofacial injuries in the five sports.

Even though this was the first mandatory mouthguard rule introduced to the five high school contact sports, mouthguards have been required in the collision sports of football for 30 years and in ice hockey for 24 years. The efficacy of mouthguards and the incidence of orofacial injuries in football and ice hockey were documented prior to the implementation of mandatory rules. The orofacial injury rate in football dropped from 50% to less than 0.5% with the addition of the facemask and the mouthguard. In ice hockey, before 1975, craniofacial injuries were the most frequent injuries sustained. Through the cooperative efforts of ice hockey administrators, health professionals, and the introduction of mandatory protective equipment, craniofacial injuries in youth, high school, and college ice hockey players in the United States have been dramatically reduced.

Since mouth protectors have significantly decreased the number and severity of orofacial injuries occurring in football and hockey, athletes participating in the two collision sports are no longer at a greater risk of sustaining orofacial injuries than those participating in many of the contact sports (which traditionally have not required mouthguard use). Garon, Merkle, and Wright suggested that the highest frequency of oral trauma occurred in sports other than organized football. In Texas, male and female athletes participating in the collegiate sports of basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, field hockey, and lacrosse sustained a higher number of orofacial injuries than football players. In another study, 42% of high school football players reported sustaining an orofacial injury while participating in basketball or baseball. During the 1989 Canadian Games, the highest incidence of orofacial injuries reported for male athletes was in the sports of wrestling and basketball, and for female athletes, the highest incidence of dental injuries occurred in basketball and field hockey. Flanders found that the injury rate for basketball players was higher than for football players based on the number of per 10,000 athletic exposures.

Although the occurrences of orofacial injuries in some contact sports have been documented, an actual incidence of orofacial injuries within a representative group in a specified location for adolescent populations has not been reported. The objectives of this study were: first; to determine the incidence of orofacial injuries in five varsity high school sports (boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, and wrestling) using a) written self-administered surveys and b) reports of orofacial injuries from athletic trainers; second, to compare the orofacial injury rates occurring in games and practices; and third, to examine the relationship of fixed orthodontic appliances with the occurrence of orofacial injuries.

Demographics and Study Population. The study was designed as a descriptive prospective epidemiological survey conducted during the 1996-97 MSHSL boys’ and girls’ fall and winter sports seasons. Athletes from the selected sports (varsity high school girls’ soccer, boys’ soccer, girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball, and wrestling) were governed by the MSHSL and were affected by the mouthguard rule implementation and reversal. The subjects were varsity high school athletes from seven participating public high schools within a conference of four school districts in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Athletic trainers from the Institute for Athletic Medicine who contract with all seven high schools in this study, agreed to participate. Informed consent to participate was obtained from the athletic trainers and an objection for written consent was distributed to the athletes. Athletes who returned the objection for written consent with a signature from self, or a parent/guardian, were excluded from the study.

Athletic Trainer’s Survey: The athletic trainers were given the Athletic Trainer’s Orofacial Injury Form, to be completed within one week of an athlete sustaining an orofacial injury. One form was completed for each incident that resulted in an orofacial injury. The form consisted of a list of dental injuries (dental avulsions, dental fractures, and dental luxations); lacerations or contusions to the gums, cheeks, tongue, lips, or jaws; jaw fracture; jaw locked open or closed; temporomandibular join pain or chewing difficulty; and concussion from a blow under the chin. All questions were phrased to elicit ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses. Space was provided for the athletic trainer to respond subjectively if so desired. Objectives and analyses were planned for each question. The athletic trainers were consulted on the design of the form and instructed on its use. The form was piloted during the 1995-96 winter sports season on a comparable population. After the instrument was developed and tested, data was collected during the season.

Athlete’s Survey: At the completion of the season, each athlete was given a written self-administered survey. The questions in the athlete’s survey were consistent in content to the questions in the athletic trainers survey. They were formatted appropriately for high school students. Objectives and analysis were planned for each question. At the end of the season, the athletic trainers administered the athlete’s survey on one of two occasions (at the sport’s banquet or at the end of the season meeting). Surveys were pre-tested and piloted prior to use. Response rates over 70% from a school were considered representative. To our knowledge, case ascertainment was complete at the end of the study period. Quality assurance and insurance procedures were closely followed to promote equal treatment of all schools and athletic trainers.

Summary of Meeting

The following is a summary of the September 20, 1999 meeting of the Principals’ Committee on Athletics:

Executive Director’s Report

The Executive Director’s Report was approved.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer’s Report was approved.

On a recommendation made by Jane Hale, Treasurer, the Committee voted to approve a policy that personal checks will not be accepted for admission to any Rhode Island Interscholastic League playoff contests.

Communications

Mr. Lynch referred to several memoranda and publications which were placed in member’s folders or filed in the League office.

The Committee congratulated Ms. Jean Angell on her appointment to the Field Hockey Rules Committee of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Cross Country

Mr. Lynch reported that the Class Meets and Championship Meets will not be held at Bryant College due to the extensive construction taking place on that campus. Mr. Charles Sweeney, Director, Cross Country, and the cross country coaches are presently investigating Fort Adams as a potential site for the meets.

Mr. Mezzanotte reported that the Division I & II Superbowls will be played at Pierce Stadium in East Providence. Forms have been sent to selected schools/communities seeking proposals to host the Division III and IV Superbowls.

It was reported that several schools have been wearing illegal football game jerseys. The rule states, "… which shall be long enough to reach the top of the pants and shall be tucked in if longer." The Committee voted to send a notice to all schools indicating that, for those schools effected, players must wear a tee-shirt under the game shirt. The undershirt shall be long enough to reach the top of the pants and shall be tucked in if longer. Further, it was voted that no penalty will be imposed on the players or teams.

Mr. Mercurio reported that the boys’ soccer semi-finals and finals will take place at Portsmouth High School on October 31^st, and November 1^st, 2^nd, and 6^th.

He also reported that he sent a letter to Dan Messier, President of the R. I. Soccer Officials; Association, regarding concerns that officials are not communicating with coaches when issuing yellow cards. He also expressed concern about the level of fitness of officials and [officials] not being in position to make proper calls.

Ms. Hale reported that the girls’ playoffs will be held at Pierce Stadium in East Providence.

In other business, the Committee received a request from the principal of North Smithfield High School to move down to a lower division in girls’ soccer when the realignment occurs. The request was referred to Ms. Hale, Director of Girls’ Soccer.

The Committee received a request from the Principal of North Smithfield High School to move down to a lower division in girls’ tennis when realignment occurs and boys’ tennis for the Spring 2000 season. The requests were referred to the appropriate directors.

Mr. Lynch proposed the following officials’ fees structure for the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons as follows:

1999-2000: 1^st official - $47.00, 2^nd official - $40.00
2000-2001: 1^st official - $49.00, 2^nd official - $43.00

On a motion made and seconded, the Committee unanimously voted to approve the proposed volleyball officials’ fees.

The Committee received a request from the principal of North Smithfield High School to move down to a lower division in girls’ volleyball for the upcoming Spring 2000 season. The request was referred to Ms. Elaine Botelho, Director, Girls’ Volleyball.

Field Hockey: Ms. Jean Angell

Ms. Angell reported that the Field Hockey semi-finals and finals will be played at Providence College on November 7^th and 11^th, 1999.

The Committee voted to approve a request from the Coaches Association to conduct a Seniors Game on October 17, 1999.

In other business, the Committee discussed the concerns expressed in a letter from Dr. Benoit relative to the use of mouthguards and eye protection during practice and games. It was pointed out that mouthguards are mandatory by National Federation rules. Eye protection is optional. The issue will be addressed by the RIIL Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. Further, Ms. Angell will address it at the NFHS Rules Committee meeting.

Hockey: Mr. Daniel Sheehan

The 1999-2000 hockey schedule was approved.

The Committee also approved a formal request from Cranston High School West to move from Division B to the Championship Division for the 1999-2000 season.

In other business, Mr. Lynch submitted the 1998-1999 Hockey Financial report, which was unanimously approved by the Committee.

Girls’ Indoor Track

The Girls’ Indoor Track schedule, with the inclusion of Chariho High School as a new team, was approved. It was also reported that all meets will be held at Moses Brown School.

Ms. Headley reported a problem with holding the weight events at Moses Brown School due to construction in the area which has always been used for these events. The event can be held in another area closer to the field hockey field. However, the RIIL would be responsible for providing the cage itself. Ms. Headley and Mr. Lynch agreed to explore options to insure that these events can and will be held.

Boys’ Indoor Track

The Boys’ Indoor Track schedule, excluding Westerly High School, was also approved.

Wrestling

Mr. Lemoi presented the 1999-2000 Wrestling schedule for approval with the following adjustments;

• Johnston High School move from B1 to A1
• Smithfield High School move from C1 to B1
• Hope High School move from B1 to C1
• Exeter/West Greenwich High School move from C2 to B2
• West Warwick High School move from B2 to C2
• LaSalle Academy was added as a new team to the League in Division C2.

The Committee unanimously approved the 1999-2000 Wrestling schedule and adjustments.

Swimming

The 1999-2000 Swimming schedule, with Toll Gate High School added to Class A, was approved.

Other Sports/Issues

Mr. James Murano, Principal, Westerly High School, reported that Westerly High School will compete in Gymnastics as a team, but will not be able to host meets.

Mr. Lynch referred to a letter from Susan McNamara, Director of Gymnastics, regarding the status of gymnastics relative to teams being added and the 1999-2000 schedule being finalized for the October meeting of the Committee on Athletics.

Agreement to Compete with RIIL Member Schools

Mr. Lynch presented a proposed form to be completed and signed by a non-member school seeking permission to participate in a contest against a RIIL member school. The completion and signature on this form will insure that the student-athletes of the non-member school abide by the same rules and regulations as those required for student-athletes who participate in the RIIL.

On a motion made and seconded, the Agreement to Compete form was approved and will be sent to all schools.

Sports Medicine Advisory Committee

The following position papers were recommended by the RIIL Sports Medicine Advisory Committee:

• Cerebral Concussion
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Burners and Stingers
• Creatine
• Androstenedione
• Use of Certified Athletic Trainers at RIIL Championships

The Committee approved the position papers as proposed by the RIIL Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

The aforementioned position papers will be placed in the revised Rules & Regulations of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (Blue Book) and the Sports Medicine Manual which is in the process of being completed.

The issue of hiring athletic trainers at RIIL playoffs and championships was discussed. Concerns centered on the lack of athletic trainers to service the events, and the cost to provide them. Mr. Lynch will discuss the possibility with the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and the Rhode Island Interscholastic Injury Fund.

Greg Alexander – Mt. Hope High School

This hearing was an appeal of a decision by the Waiver Hearing Committee on August 23, 1999 at which time a request for a waiver of Article 3, Section 4, the 8-Semester Rule, was denied.

The appeal was granted.

Nicholas Guilbeault – Woonsocket High School

This hearing was an appeal of a decision by the Waiver Hearing Committee on August 23, 1999 at which time a request for a waiver of Article 3, Section 4, the 8-Semester Rule, was denied.

The appeal was denied.