The Latest Headlines from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association
March 2021
Executive Committee Meeting Recap
The NYSPHSAA Executive Committee met virtually on Wednesday, February 3rd.

Prior to the meeting, the four elected NYSPHSAA officers, acting on input from the 11 section executive directors and members schools, announced the cancellation of the 2021 NYSPHSAA spring state championships. The decision was made to allow sections more time to schedule and conduct regular season contests.

Several state championship venues were approved by the committee.

To view a brief recap of the meeting, recap of items voted on, and complete meeting minutes see the buttons below.

The next Executive Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 5th.
Scholar-Athlete Program Updates
Important Updates to Scholar-Athlete Program

WINTER - (any schools that played low/moderate/high risk) – Please use February report card and a March 15 deadline.
**This will be used for schools who participated in athletics during the more typical season model. 

To submit a team or individual for Winter Scholar-Athlete recognition please click here.
Deadline to submit for this season is Monday, March 15th.

WINTER (high-risk late start) – Please use April report card and a May 3 deadline. 

FALL SEASON II (low/moderate/high risk) – Please use April report card and a May 3 deadline.

SPRING (low/moderate/high risk) – Please use June report card and a June 30 deadline.
NYSPHSAA Student Leadership Conference
The first ever NYSPHSAA Student Leadership Conference (Virtual) is scheduled for Friday, March 5, 2021 via GoToWebinar

The schedule is as follows:

8:30am: Welcome & Introductions

8:45- 9:45am: Keynote Speaker - Mental Toughness

9:50-10:30am: Workshop 1 - Nutrition for Student-Athletes

10:35-11:15am: Workshop 2 - Scholar-Athletes and Social Justice

11:15-11:55am: Workshop 3 - College and Career Mapping

12-12:30pm: Lunch Break

12:30-1:10pm: Workshop 4 - Mental Health for Student-Athletes

1:15-2:15pm: Keynote Speaker - Impact of Decisions

2:15-2:30pm: Closing Remarks

***ATHLETIC DIRECTORS***
There is still time to register your student-athletes for this Leadership Conference.


Please note, Students/Athletic Directors will need to request an excused absence from the school district to attend.
Winter Community Service Challenge
Deadline One Week Away
The Winter Community Service Challenge deadline is approaching fast!!!

Don't miss this great opportunity to honor the student-led projects taking place in your communities.

Click here to submit for the Winter Community Service Challenge.

Deadline to submit is March 8, 2021
Student-Athlete Takeaways from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Former New York Knicks nutritionist Heidi Skolnik takes a look at the latest dietary guidelines and what it means for student-athletes.

Check out this latest article from our friends at the American Dairy Association North East.
Sportsmanship Promotion Survey Now Open
The 2020-21 Sportsmanship Promotion Survey is now open! This is the time to highlight the work being done in your school to promote good sportsmanship.

The Sportsmanship Promotion Survey is designed to assess how schools are promoting positive sportsmanship within their athletic departments. This survey is a tool that can be used by athletic administrators to examine policies and procedures and that can be used to promote positive sportsmanship. 

All schools that complete the survey will receive a sportsmanship certificate. The sportsmanship committee will then choose schools from each section to receive a plaque. Those applications will be evaluated to determine a sportsmanship promotion banner award winner. Deserving schools will be recognized by the NYSPHSAA and honored at the NYSPHSAA Central Committee Meeting.

To complete the survey use this link

Deadline to submit is Monday, April 12.
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Applications Now Being Accepted
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is looking for current sophomores to join the SAAC for next school year.
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) was developed to give student-athletes a voice within the NYSPHSAA.

The committee will discuss topics relevant to high school student-athletes and develop ways to maintain a positive athletic experience. Each committee member is expected to exemplify leadership while providing feedback on and promote all NYSPHSAA Special Programs, including but not limited to, Scholar-Athlete, Sportsmanship, Life of an Athlete, Student Leadership, and Community Service.

Deadline is apply is Monday, May 10.

Athletic Directors, please share this link with with qualified student-athletes.
"If You Don't Have This in Your School,
You Should!"
If you have not participated or seen a Unified Sports event, you should. Unified Sports is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling ways to give back to your school and your community.

Our friends at Special Olympics New York want to get more schools involved in Unified Sports. They have launched a campaign called “If you don’t have this in your school, you should!”

Please use this link to learn more.

“Unified is more than a sports league – it’s a way of life. Together as teammates in every sense, our Unified athletes and partners are creating school communities where inclusion, tolerance and acceptance of all students is the rule and not the exception.”
— Stacey Hengsterman, President and CEO of Special Olympics New York
Partnership with ezSCRN
NYSPHSAA reminds you of its partnership with ezSCRN, an application that can help track, collect data, report and communicate both COVID-19 cases as well as traumatic brain injuries.

The ezSCRN app is being offered to NYSPHSAA member schools at a discounted rate. Watch the video below for a brief description of the app and more information.

The Association has launched a web page exclusively for the ezSCRN app. You can find all the answers to your questions there. Plus you can sign up for a demonstration as well.

To visit the ezSCRN page click here.
Keeping Teen Drivers Safe
The NYS Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) has partnered with NYSPHSAA to promote safe teen driving messages to student-athletes across New York State.

Grant-funded programs are available at no cost to NYSPHSAA member schools and include Survivor Advocacy speakers, Battle of the Belt competitions, and classroom resources for Health or PE classes. All programs can be conducted virtually or socially distanced in-person. NY SADD has also created a Google Classroom with virtual materials and lesson plans as well as a Back-to-SADD Guide with different activities.
 
If you are interested in hosting a program for your district or have any questions about these materials, visit the Coaches Care page of the NYSPHSAA website or contact Chris Joyce at [email protected].
Free Hazing Prevention Course
"Hazing Prevention: It's Everyone's Responsibility" is available to all NYSPHSAA member schools, free of charge.

This course is designed as a guided/facilitate course for high school teams/groups. The 30-minute presentation uses examples specific to student-athletes to help prevent hazing activity in high school. Resources also include discussion topics and optional assessments. To access the hazing prevention course created by prevent.zone and hazingprevention.org click here

All NYSPHSAA member schools will receive a 25% Discount for the individual Hazing Prevention course called, Hazing Prevention 101™. Visit the Prevent.Zone website and use the special code ys2020-25.

Questions? Contact NYSPHSAA Assistant Director, Kristen Jadin.
Want to be an Official?
Check out the officials page on nysphsaa.org. It has important information for current officials and information on signing up if you are interested in becoming an official.

Click here to visit the officials page
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