All lacrosse fans in the state of Florida were disheartened by the FHSAA ruling that that if a school/conference was not associated with an NFHS (National Federation of High Schools) association that school would not be eligible to play Florida schools in lacrosse.  This ruling heavily impacted on the lacrosse teams of the MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association), as they were forced to relinquish long-standing scheduled games during their spring break southern swing. Last year, when this rule became enforced, it was overshadowed by the Girl’s helmet issue as my time was taken up by that issue and frankly I did not get to delve into this decision in great detail so now that there is a move to find a sensible compromise to restarting the relationships it made sense to research the issue more fully. We all remember past games between Boys’ Latin, McDonogh, Calvert Hall and Saint Andrew’s, Lake Highland, St. Thomas, Vero Beach, etc. and how much they meant to the area fans since it was in many ways our ultimate benchmark in how far some of our top programs had come and when the 2008 season saw Saint Andrew’s finally break through with their 7-6 win over Boys’ Latin and followed that up with a more convincing 2009 win over Archbishop Spalding it was the biggest marker in proving how far the state had come. Thankfully, there is an amendment before the FHSAA Board to change the language in a way that might reinstate those relationships:  

The FHSAA is currently debating an amendment to Section 4.1.2 – Eligible Contests that would update its current language/policy to include the ability of Florida schools to play NFHS ‘non-member’ schools if they meet the Standards of Competition compliance of the NFHS through an affiliation with an NFHS-member. This language is important to overcoming the barrier placed in front of the MIAA lacrosse teams reinstating their long-standing relationships with Florida schools.

  FLN has done research on the issue today and found the following: The MIAA is a non-member in good standing of the MPSSAA, as noted from their web site: http://www.miaasports.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=51&pgnc=1 “The MIAA was formed after the Baltimore City Schools withdrew from the historic Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) in order to join the other public schools in the state which are under the umbrella of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA).” I followed up with a phone call to the MIAA offices and was told the following: They are not members of the NFHS currently because the NFHS only recognizes ONE association per state plus affiliate members (for example, Florida has the Florida School Music Association for bands).  The MIAA decided not to apply for affiliated status because it didn’t carry with it any extra status that would make it useful to scheduling games in their opinion and because the MPSSAA said they would not support the effort since the MIAA only represents 29 of the 97 private schools in Maryland (no private schools in Maryland are currently NFHS members). Interestingly enough, when I queried the FHSAA about whether associate status would be sufficient the answer was ‘Yes’.  So if the MPSSAA had supported the MIAA application this issue would never have come up and the games would be played right now. FLN then contacted the NHFS and was able to speak with Susie Knoblauch, who now oversees lacrosse for the organization as part of her duties and she confirmed that the MPSSAA was a member in good standing.  She also indicated that if the MIAA is a non-member associate of the MPSSAA that it was considered as being NFHS-approved for competition.  I am going to verify that statement tomorrow because it adds a layer of complexity to how this all came to pass and would be an interesting point of questioning for the FHSAA’s ruling. The original FHSAA ruling is still a little difficult to ascertain as I have been told varying versions of why the ruling was enforced after a period where the games were allowed.  Whether the FHSAA decided to enforce the policy because of insurance concerns, or just took the hard line stance of the NFHS membership being required as the main reason, is based on who I talked to and frankly it looks like the situation might have been resolved two years ago if the thought process that is going into the amendment process had been held two years ago and that was probably due to lacrosse not being at the forefront of FHSAA thinking back then.  

Should the FHSAA change their policy to include the new language and the addition of schools that are caught in bureaucratic limbo it would be a credit to the organization and a great sign that Gainesville is recognizing the growth in the sport down here and the need to find ways to continue that growth in a positive approach. Based on our research today the amendment, if passed, would include a ‘checklist’ of items that non-members need to agree to in order for the games to be scheduled.

  Many of the MIAA games played down south this year occurred in Georgia and let’s all hope that they are open to coming back to Florida instead of continuing their new Georgia relationships. It would be a terrible loss for Florida lacrosse if that were not to occur.