Participation Fee Numbers Hold Steady
June 27, 2012
Although the use of participation fees to help fund interscholastic athletics in Michigan high schools has doubled during the last nine years, the percentage of schools assessing them has held steady over the last two, according to surveys taken by the Michigan High School Athletic Association of its member institutions.
The most recently completed survey indicates that of 514 member schools participating, 260 schools – 50.5 percent – charged participation fees during the 2011-12 school year. In the 2010-11 survey, fees were being used at 50.4 percent of schools participating.
There were 763 senior high schools in the MHSAA membership this school year – the survey generated a response rate of 68 percent. This was the ninth survey of schools since the 2003-04, when members reported that fees were being used in 24 percent of schools.
The most recent survey also showed that fees incurred by students who paid once for an entire year of participation increased slightly from 2010-11 to 2011-12 – although the maximum fee per family decreased slightly.
The most popular method of assessing participation fees continues to be a payment for each sport an athlete goes out for, used by 41.5 percent of schools in 2011-12. That median fee among schools in the survey has increased only $5, to $75, since 2009-10.
A standardized annual fee per student was used by 24.5 percent of schools in the past year. Since Fall 2003, that fee has increased from $75 to $120 – a 60 percent increase – with the fee increasing $20 per athlete from 2010-11 to 2011-12.
Beginning with the 2004-05 survey, schools were asked in the survey if they had a cap on what individual student-athletes and families could be charged. Caps on student fees have been used by the majority of schools, but that number has dropped from 71.3 percent in 2004-05 to 55 percent in 2011-12. However, the number of schools instituting a cap on what a family pays has increased from 41 percent having a limit in 2004-05 to 49 percent in 2011-12.
Other data from the 2011-12 survey shows 64.5 percent of schools with participation fees have some kind of fee reduction or waiver program in place based on existing programs for subsidized lunch and milk (down from 68 percent in 2010-11); that 14 percent of schools using fees report a drop in participation; and that slightly more than one percent of schools report losing students to other school districts because they are charging fees. Five percent of schools not assessing fees in 2011-12 report transfers to their districts because of the absence of fees. Also, seven percent of schools not assessing fees had done so previously.
The survey for 2011-12 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website by clicking on Schools – Administrators – Pay-To-Play Resources.
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Lacrosse Finals Move to U-M Among Headlines as Spring Sports Ramp Up
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 9, 2024
The Girls & Boys Lacrosse Finals will be played at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium for the first time, one of the most notable changes for this season as sports ramp up for more than 100,000 athletes anticipated to participate this spring for Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.
The MHSAA sponsors postseason competition each spring in baseball, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, girls and boys track & field, boys golf (Lower and Upper Peninsula) and girls golf (UP), and girls (LP) and boys (UP) tennis.
The U-M Lacrosse Stadium opened for competition in 2018 and seats 2,000 spectators. The Girls Lacrosse Finals will be played Friday, June 7, with Division 1 at 4 p.m. and Division 2 at 7 p.m. The Boys Lacrosse Finals will be played the following day, June 8, with Division 2 at 11 a.m. and Division 1 at 2 p.m.
Girls lacrosse also has a significant format adjustment this season, as games will be played with four 12-minutes quarters instead of the previous two halves, in part to allow coaches more opportunities to provide direct instruction during a game. Two more rules changes are expected to improve flow of play – players awarded a free position outside of the critical scoring area no longer must come to a stop and settled stance before self-starting, and false start penalties outside the critical scoring area have been eliminated.
Several more rules changes will be noticeable this spring:
In boys lacrosse, a change was made to enhance player safety. Play will stop immediately any time a player’s helmet comes off, and that player may not return until the next dead ball after play continues.
Fair and legal starts are a continued emphasis for track & field, and a rule change will allow for movement before the start of the race as long as a competitor does not leave their mark with a hand or a foot after the “set” command, or make forward motion before the starting device is activated.
A significant rule change in softball alters pitch delivery mechanics. The pitcher may now have both feet off the ground at the same time when releasing the ball as long as both feet remain within the 24-inch width of a pitching plate and the pitcher does not replant the pivot foot before delivering the pitch.
Another change in softball requires that a playbook/playcard be worn on the wrist or kept in a back pocket to reduce distractions. If worn by the pitcher, the equipment must be worn on the non-pitching arm. Similarly in baseball, a wristband with plays or instructions will be permitted but must be a single, solid color, and for pitchers may not contain the colors white or gray or be otherwise distracting. Baseball players must wear this wristband on the wrist or forearm, and pitchers may wear one only on their non-pitching arm.
Also in baseball, a rule change allows for one-way communication devices worn by the catcher to receive instructions from the dugout while on defense, for the purpose of calling pitches. The coach must be inside the dugout/bench area to use the communication device.
Golfers now are required to participate in at least four competitions for the high school team prior to representing that school team in an MHSAA Regional or Final. Those four regular-season competitions may be 9 or 18-hole events.
In tennis, for the first time in Lower Peninsula play, a No. 1 doubles flight from a non-qualifying team will be able to advance from its Regional to Finals competition. To do so, that No. 1 doubles flight must finish first or second at its Regional, and the No. 1 singles player from that team also must have qualified for the Finals individually by finishing first or second in Regional play.
On the soccer pitch, two officiating-related changes will be especially noticeable. Officials now may stop the clock to check on an injured player without that player being required to leave the match – previously that player would have to sub out. Also, categories for fouls have been redefined: careless (which is a foul but does not receive a card), reckless (a foul with a yellow card) and excessive force (foul with red card).
The 2023-24 Spring campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals during the week of May 27 and wraps up with Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball Finals on June 15. Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates:
Baseball
Districts – May 23-June 1
Regional Semifinals – June 5
Regional Finals, Quarterfinals – June 8
Semifinals – June 13-14
Finals – June 15
Golf
LP Boys Regionals – May 28-June 1
UP Girls & Boys Finals – May 29, 30, 31 or June 1
LP Boys Finals – June 7-8
Boys Lacrosse
Pre-Regionals – May 10-15
Regionals – May 16-29
Quarterfinals – May 31 or June 1
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 8
Girls Lacrosse
Pre-Regionals – May 16-18, or May 20
Regionals – May 22-June 1
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 7
Girls Soccer
Districts – May 22-June 1
Regionals – June 4-8
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 14-15
Softball
Districts – May 23-June 1
Regionals – June 8
Quarterfinals – June 11
Semifinals – June 13-14
Finals – June 15
Tennis
LP Girls Regionals – May 15-18
UP Boys Finals – May 29, 30, 31 or June 1
LP Girls Finals – May 31-June 1
Track & Field
Regionals – May 16-18
Finals – June 1