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MIAA Guidelines for Students and Parents

I. ELIGIBLE STUDENTS
     Commencing with date of enrollment at a member school, a full time student, who is in good standing according to the policies of the particular school and subject to the other limitations herein prescribed, is eligible to participate in league competitions in the MIAA.  Students are considered full time and part of the school community when they take a majority of their academic classes on campus within their school, during the traditional school year.  Home schooled students who have participated in a sport at a member school as of September 2003 would be exempt from this requirement.  
     Foreign based students who attend an MIAA member school will be eligible for participation presuming that they meet all MIAA guidelines for eligibility and are attending a member school in conjunction with programs administered by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET).  Information regarding CSIET programs may be obtained by calling (888) 787-2970 or visit their website at www.csiet.org.  To prove their eligibility, the student athlete must provide:
            a.  Birth Certificate, Visa or passport verifying date of birth
            b.  Secondary School academic credentials
            c.  Documentation of athletic experience in their native country 
    
II. AGE LIMITATIONS
A student who has attained his/her 19th birthday before August 31st of a given academic year is not eligible to participate.
A student who has attained his/her 19th birthday on or after August 31st of a given academic year may participate only on the Varsity level.

III. LIMITS OF PARTICIPATION
     A student may not represent any school, regardless of its affiliation to this Association, in any one sport at any competitive level for more than four years.  Additionally, students may only be enrolled in grades 9-12 for participation in association athletic programs.
     A student may not represent more than one school during any academic year in interscholastic athletics regardless of its affiliation to this association.  A student athlete may appeal this guideline based on a move of his primary residence. 
A student who has graduated from a secondary education program, either domestic or foreign, is not eligible to participate.

IV. AMATEUR STATUS
     To be eligible to participate in contests of this Association, a student must be an amateur. As such, he/she may not receive, directly or indirectly, any salary, stipend, incentive, payment, award, gratuity, gift, educational expenses or expense allowance as a result of participation in any sport or sports team. In order to preserve students’ eligibility for college athletics, MIAA athletes are required to adhere to the policies for avoiding “professionalism” as defined by the NCAA.

V. TRANSFER STUDENTS
     A transfer student is one who changes enrollment from one school to another.  This transfer policy covers all students changing schools whether from member or non-member schools. 
     A transfer student who changes schools during the school year and has participated in interscholastic athletics at any level at his former school is ineligible to participate in interscholastic activities for the remainder of that school year.  Additionally, that student, if he or she was a varsity athlete at their previous school, is ineligible for participation in that (those) sport(s) during the following academic year.  Participation is defined as practicing or playing in any game. 
     A transfer student who changes schools after the close of their previous school year and before the first day of classes at the new school and was a varsity athlete at his/her previous school is ineligible to participate in that sport at the new school for one year beginning with the first date of attendance.  If that student was an undersquad athlete (freshman or junior varsity) at his previous school, he/she may transfer without penalty.
     For transfer purposes, a varsity athlete is defined as a student who has participated in any way in a varsity conference game which determines seedings in a tournament or placement in a conference or in any game that counts towards the point system for a conference or state playoff.
     The only exceptions to this policy are the following:
     a)  If a student were to change their primary residence; a change in primary residence means a move of more
          than 30 miles from their present residence;
     b)  If a student's present school were to eliminate the athletic program in which he/she is participating.
     This policy is effective as of September 1, 2006.

VI. MIGRATION BETWEEN SQUAD LEVELS
     Unless specifically stipulated otherwise by the Sports Committee Chairman, in any given season once a student has played in a league game on a higher squad level, the student may not play in league games at a lower level. Squad level migration requests must be made in writing to the Sport Committee Chairperson prior to this migration. Requests must indicate the reasons for the migration and the names and positions of the players to be considered. 
     Regardless of the league status of an athletic competition, a student may not participate in two squad levels of the same sport in the same day.
     Migration should only occur if there is a danger of an undersquad team being unable to complete their schedule.
     The league will establish a date for final rosters after which time no player may migrate down to an undersquad team. 

VII. RECRUITMENT
     In conformity with the purpose and spirit of this Association, the following principles govern the manner in which member schools influence and encourage a student to become affiliated with a school:
     1) No school, through any of its officers, representatives or by any other means, shall directly or indirectly offer inducement to a student of any school, regardless of the student’s age or academic grade, to terminate enrollment at said school and migrate to another for athletic purposes.
     2) It is considered appropriate for a schools Admissions Department to provide a student information about its school; however coaches and other members of a school’s Athletic Department are prohibited from contacting or communicating with a student or the student’s parents/guardians until such time as inquiry regarding the student’s possible admission to the school has been initiated by the student’s parent/guardian through the Admissions Department. This policy does not preclude attendance by coaches or member school representatives to non-high school athletic events for the purpose of screening prospective student athletes. On the occasion that a prospective student athlete or his parents seek information from a member school’s representative attending a non-high school event, the school’s representative may answer preliminary questions about the member school. The school’s representative should indicate to the prospective student athlete and his parents that further contact by an athletic department representative can not be made until the admissions department at the member school is contacted by the parents. 

VIII. ELIGIBILITY VIOLATIONS
     The deliberate or inadvertent violation of the conditions of a student-athlete’s eligibility results in the forfeiture of all contests in which the ineligible student participated. It is the competence of the Executive Director, upon his own or any member school’s initiative, to judge the eligibility status of a student-athlete.

IX. EJECTION RULE 
     A player who is ejected from a non-league game or contest (for other than physical or verbal abuse of an official) is automatically suspended from participation in that teams' next scheduled game or contest.  An individual ejected before, during or after any league contest, the result of which affects the standings or playoff seedings of the competing schools, is suspended for the next scheduled league contest.  An individual ejected during a school's final league or non-league contest must serve his suspension during his team's next scheduled league contest to include a league championship, tournament or playoff game.  If the individuals' school is not participating in the league championship tournament, the suspension carries over to the first conference contest in the next year.  In the event of an individual performing in a tournament, it is the next scheduled time he is to compete.  The two yellow card rule (soft yellow) in soccer does not fall under this ruling. 
     A player ejected, before, during or after a contest, for the physical or verbal abuse of a game official or for an ejection involving an altercation with an opposing player which results in physical contact with that player is automatically suspended for the next schedule contest, and may not participate again until a review of the ejection incident is made by the Executive Director.  The Executive Director, after conferring with the individual's head of school, athletic director and executive committee, may impose additional penalties.  The additional penalties are non appealable.  Penalties issued by officials for unsportsmanlike or dangerous physical contact to another player may come under the review of the executive director or executive committee for additional sanctions.
     It is the responsibility of the individual's athletic director to enforce this rule and notify the executive director, for documentation purposes only, of the ejection and subsequent suspension.
     The game officials' decisions regarding an individual's ejection from a game or contest are final and binding; no appeals will be entertained. 
     Failure to enforce the suspension by allowing the ejected individual to participate in the subsequent contest results in the automatic forfeiture of the game or contest in which the de facto suspended individual participated.  ANY PLAYER ISSUED A RED CARD OR CITED FOR FLAGRANT FOUL, MISCONDUCT OR UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT AFTER TIME HAS EXPIRED WILL SERVE A SUSPENSION AS UNDER NORMAL GAME TIME EJECTIONS.  NO EJECTION IS APPEALABLE REGARDLESS OF THE CONDITION CITED BY THE OFFICIALS TO JUSTIFY THE EXPULSION.  THIS WOULD INCLUDE SERIOUSNESS OF THE FOUL OR MISINERPRETATION OF THE RULES.

X. OUT OF SEASON PRACTICE
     Summer Season:  June 1 - August 1 (Fall sports)
     June 1 - Beginning of fall practice (All other sports)
    
For practice purposes, summer begins June 1st and ends August 1st.  During this time coaches can work with student athletes in any capacity.  The use of protective padding for football, (blocking/tackling sleds or similar apparatus) is prohibited and no contact is allowed.  Camps are excluded.  From August 1st thru the start date for fall practices, fall sports teams may utilize weight training and conditioning activities only.  The fall start date signifies the end of summer and workout limitations. 
     Out of season practice:  First fall practice date - May 31
     Coaches will be permitted to work with their team outside of the normal season, but during the school year, for no more than three hours per week.  The three hour time period is voluntary for students and may include:  agilities, practices, individual sessions, open gyms, games or contests during the week.  Weekend club games/tournaments and weight training/conditioning activities are not included in this three hour limitation.  The three hour time limit is cumulative for all coaches.  (This includes spring football)
     There are no out of season limitations for the individual sports including:  cross country, golf, squash, swimming, tennis and track.  

SPORTSMANSHIP STATEMENT     
     In its evaluation of player and coach ejections over the past number of years, it has become apparent that the majority of these penalties have been caused by late hits, frustration hits or overly aggressive play.  In an effort to promote hard, clean and fair play, the MIAA considers this type of conduct intolerable and in accordance with its philosophy and by-laws will consider maximum penalties for these types of infractions.
     It is expected that all member schools, their administration, directors of athletics and specifically the individual coaches, teach and mandate that any such conduct is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.  Additionally, in accepting the notion that players on the field reflect the actions and attitudes of their coaches on the sidelines, this association expects all of its coaches to act in the best interests and well being of our student athletes.
     Under the guidance of each school's director of athletics, all coaches, especially in contact sports, should stress to their student athletes the inappropriateness of late hits, verbal or physical abuse of officials or opposing players and any conduct detrimental to the physical well being of any player.

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