The ncaa has lost law suit after law suit. Someone needs to start filing suit against high school associations that limit competition opportunities for high school kids
Michigan had or maybe still does have the same arcane rule. I am too lazy to look and see if Michigan still has the same rule.
Illinois can easily get ride of this rule. The damage they have done to themselves given this specific situation should cause rapid change or rapid firing of the administrators.
Someone made another thread for this, and I saw that he wasn’t in the top 7 on his team. Plus, he’s only a freshman so he got 3 more years.
It shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it’s a good lesson for him, his family, and his coaches to learn so that this situation doesn’t happen when he does become a senior and makes the top 7
How is that a "good lesson"?
If he goes for a 5k training run, that's fine, if he does it in a race, he gets banned - sounds like a dumb rule.
And if the dude's autistic, sounds like some reasonable adjustment might be called for.
Like the NCAA, are most rules in HS to prevent basketball and football from doing what one does when money is involved? Like the NCAA, this seems like overkill when applied to a less popular sport.
Also like the NCAA, Illinois allows HS players to receive NIL money. Therefore, if this same HS had the top QB in the nation, that kid may be raking in $500,000+ his senior year. But, YES, this freshman XC runner should be banned :)
They should reconsider the rule at the next available time - seems outdated and probably should have never been.
I think it's to encourage high schoolers to do multiple sports and not the same sport year-round?
If that's the rationale, (a) it's dumb - forcing people not to do what they want is not the same as encouraging them to do something different, and (b) it's (potentially at least) discriminatory. Some neurodiverse people can't cope with team sports, or ball sports, or just get into their thing, whether it's running or whatever, and that's what they want to do.
A few years back I won a local roadrace that had a small cash prize. The third place finisher gave me us prize money owing to the fact that he didn't want to jeopardize his high school good standing. It may be a dumb rule, but that doesn't make someone exempt.
What a stupid rule and a horrible thing to do to a kid. I'm from PA and during their senior year two boys on our cross country team ran this 6.5 mile road race a week before the district cross country championships. One kid won the entire race beating all the adults and the 2nd boy came in 11th place in a field of about 150. There was no such rule in PA and they both ran in the district race and the top kid qualified for the state championship race. Illinois sucks. I bet it's a new rule. I wonder if they would have banned Craig Virgin if he ran a road race back in the day. I doubt it!
This is a rule in Kansas too. Our coaches tell us the first day of practice and everyone knows about it.
People at my school got really upset when they couldn’t participate in the 9/11 stair climb because it classifies as a race even though it is still a fundraiser. Rules are rules.
A HS runner from Illinois competed in a 5K road race to benefit a hospital that had recently treated his little sister. Illinois apparently has a rule that a runner cannot compete in any "non-school events" during the season. As a result, he is being banned from competing the rest of the season. The runner is autistic and running is his outlet. I understand it violates the rule but it seems ridiculous to me to ban him for the season over this. The rule needs to be rewritten.
The rule is that high school athletes can't compete against college and pro athletes. It provides an advantage and creates potential issues.
If no NCAA affiliated runners or professional runners are in a road race then it should be no problem correct? I do find that rationale for the rule helpful and that does make sense.
This is a rule in Kansas too. Our coaches tell us the first day of practice and everyone knows about it.
People at my school got really upset when they couldn’t participate in the 9/11 stair climb because it classifies as a race even though it is still a fundraiser. Rules are rules.
Why does this rule exist?
This rule exists across all sports in IHSA and the policy is applied uniformly across all of those sports, 'in that given sport or in any competition that involves the skill of the sport in question'. This rule is communicated to all teams by their coaches, and is readily documented, and there are mechanisms for exemptions... if you ask first rather than violate the rule and then beg for forgiveness.
Folks are focusing only on this special needs child and his charity 5K. This rule also applies to an extremely affluent soccer squad that could enter into travel soccer tournaments in other states to get more experience against high level competition.
The rationale for the rule includes: 1. Fair Competition: By restricting outside competition, it helps ensure that all athletes on the team have equal opportunities to develop their skills and compete for playing time.
2. Injury Prevention: Excessive competition can increase the risk of injuries, which could negatively impact the athlete's performance and participation in school sports. Many kids don't know when they're overdoing it. Over-training is already enough of a problem, this opens up over-competing.
3. Focus on Academics: High school athletics are meant to complement the educational experience. Limiting outside commitments can help athletes prioritize their studies and maintain a healthy balance between academics and sports.
4. Team Unity: Participating in school-sanctioned events promotes team cohesion and a sense of belonging.
School coaches provide guidance, training, and support to athletes. Limiting outside competition helps ensure that athletes are receiving proper instruction and supervision.
In the specific case of running, pure-track runs are considered separate than XC, and as such one could run the other flavor of event 'in season'. This opens up road events during the track season for example. I'm not sure I agree, given the 'skill' in question has about 99% overlap, but this does provide additional flexibility.
Typically, rules like this are intended to keep the athletes on the school teams (in all sports) from also competing elsewhere during the school season for their sport. The school does want the competition from non-government sports programs. There are also rules in at least one state about school coaches not coaching members of their school team out of season, either at school or on private, club teams. These were usually the result of some coaches who would require their athletes to participate in a club team that was all players from that school, essentially forcing them to train year round. 'You either play with our club team or you can't play varsity.'
I will note that I have seen high school track & field athletes competing unattached in college meets. Is that really an 'advantage,' especially in field events? Imagine telling a high school golfer that they can't play a round of golf with their college age brother or sister on the weekend.
But playing a round of golf with friend or family is not a formal competition. There'd be no way a high school runner could be kept from getting friends or family members to race them on their own.
This rule exists in other states, too. Probably for the reasons already mentioned. I just wanted to add that any high school athlete that races in a meet or event that includes college or professional runners they cannot use that time to, for example, qualify for states.
how does this even violate the rule? A road race is not the same thing as a cross-country race. So a high school soccer player would be disqualified from playing soccer by competing in a road race too? Someone please post the exact language of the rule if you have it handy.
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