The Arizona Interscholastic Association recommended Monday to its executive board postponing the start of the winter sports season until January.

AIA executive director David Hines will meet with state health and education officials this week regarding the rising infection and positivity rates around Arizona. The information and statistics gathered at this meeting will be shared with the executive board in a special meeting yet to be determined for a vote.

The recommendation includes two weeks of mandatory AIA practice before competition can begin. Practice for winter season sports began on Nov. 9 for the counties, districts and schools that meet metrics to allow for a permissible start.

As of now those schools may continue to practice until further notice.

Executive director report

During Hines’ monthly report to the board, Joe Paddock, the AIA’s assistant executive director, said that the AIA informed a couple of private and charter schools that some of their winter sports student athletes live in zip codes that aren’t meeting AIA COVID-19 metric guidelines.

Until they do, games can’t be played and officials assigned. Some private and charters are using their own metrics to determine if an athlete can play.

For public schools, their students live in specific boundaries, but like charters and privates the public schools also have to report the zip codes in which their athletes reside in.

Hines thanked the AIA’s tournament directors and their staffs for their efforts during the recently completed fall state tournaments. In cross country, Gilbert’s Cross Roads Park hosted the championships for the first time.

Cross country staff members were at the park each day at 4 a.m. to set up for the state meets. During Hines’ monthly report, the board voted to deny a request to allow Phoenix’s Valiant College Prep to play AIA member schools and Chandler Prep’s request to play its play in football game on Saturday.

The board also voted to add e-sports as an AIA activity that will help determine which students will win the AIA’s Dr. Voie Stuart Chase Coy scholar activity award.

Financial report

During her monthly report, AIA director of finance Denise Doser said that gate receipt totals haven’t been received yet, so a net operating loss is expected.

However, the net loss is typically made up through fall gate receipts. But with minimal to no spectators in attendance due to COVID-19, it will be difficult to make up the deficit like in previous years.

The AIA’s staff is working to minimize expenses as much as possible, though. The swim state entry fee, as approved by the AIA’s board in October, may equal 41 percent of last year’s gate receipts, because no fans were permitted to attend.

For the AIA member schools’ athletic directors, the AIA’s fiscal in-service workshop is online and required to take by new and returning athletic directors. Athletic assistants and secretaries are recommended to take the online workshop.

Agenda items approved

With Monday’s full approval of the AIA’s board, Madison Highland Prep in Phoenix became the newest member school of the AIA.

Madison Highland will join the AIA during the 2021-22 school year.

The following agenda items were also approved:

• Four AIA lifetime passes.
• Twenty-four contests and or program cancellation requests.
• The student eligibility appeals request from San Manuel and Duncan High Schools. (Ray’s student eligibility appeal request for a student was denied.)
• An additional game request from Peoria High.
• A complimentary pass replacement, including a $25 fee to replace the pass, for Basha.
• Request from Miami and Globe for a joint soccer team for 2020-21. The team will not be allowed to participate in the postseason, however.
• Highland Prep’s AIA membership application process to continue with a site visit. (The board is requesting more information from Centennial Academy before its application process can continue.)

Pima alleged violation

The board requested more information about a couple of ejections, including Pima’s principal, that happened during a game before determining if a bylaw violation was committed.

Northwest Christian club/high school soccer request

Veteran Arizona high school coach Jeff Penzone of Northwest Christian presented a request to allow 3-6A high school players to participate in club tournaments just for this winter high school season.

COVID-19 restricted in-person college recruiting from March to December. That led to rescheduling some of the big fall club soccer tournaments to winter.

College coaches do most of their recruiting during the club season. Hines said that since the AIA winter sports season might not start now until January, the soccer proposal will be tabled until December.

School violations

The following are violations schools self-reported to the AIA.

Warning for Gila Ridge. A freshman football player was practicing with the team without clearance from the school’s athletic department.

Advisement for Desert Edge. The JV cheer team performed stunts with non-compliant masks during a football game.

The board voted to accept Red Mountain’s report as is. A swimmer enrolled at a charter school but kept practicing with Red Mountain without notifying Red Mountain’s coach.

Advisement for Boulder Creek. Its badminton team had transportation issues but failed to notify an opponent in a timely manner.

About AIA punishments

An advisement is a word of caution.

A warning places a school in jeopardy of being placed on probation if another violation of any rule or regulation is committed. A school will not be eligible for the Overall Excellence Award during a warning period.

If a school or one of its sports programs is placed on probation, that school/program is ineligible for the postseason and will not receive any award for achievement in that sport. A school is not eligible also for the Overall Excellence Award during its probation period.