By Andrew Seavey
On March 22nd the Michigan High School Athletic Association Representative Council agreed to make adaptive track & field events permanent for athletes competing in wheelchairs.
After testing the program for competitors during the 2022 and 2023 regional and state tournaments, the MHSAA’s Track & Field Committee approved the formal continuation of the events, which include a 100, 200, and 400-meter race, in addition to shot put.
In softball, the Council decided to approve a Softball Committee suggestion to allow schools to play District matchups on Thursday (May 31st) or Friday (June 1st), instead of Saturday if every team in their pairing agrees to do so.
If any of the schools in the bracket refuse to change the dates, then the district tournament will continue as planned on Saturday, June 2nd.
This opportunity will begin this season and will continue to be an option in future years.
The winter meeting also served as an opportunity to discuss future issues and recommendations, including the potential for new sports.
Girls field hockey, boys volleyball, water polo, girls flag football and indoor track & field for both boys and girls were discussed.
Other topics that were looked at included capping the enrollment of 11-man football programs playing in division 8 at 250 students.
The idea is that this would protect the smallest Division 8 football teams from competing against much larger schools in the playoffs, since many smaller programs have transitioned to 8-man football.
The Council approved the proposal to discuss the topic again at its May meeting, with a possible implementation during the 2025-26 school year if agreed upon.