'Check-in Champ' App Rewards Fans
January 10, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association and SuperFanHigh, a leading fan loyalty and engagement company, have launched a mobile app that will allow students, faculty, alumni, community members and all fans to earn prizes and college scholarships by showing support for high school basketball teams.
To participate, fans simply need to download the “Check-in Champ” app for free from the Apple iTunes or Google Play online stores and then check in at high school girls and boys basketball games they are attending this season. SuperFanHigh will track these check-ins and provide standings of fans who attend the most events statewide beginning Tuesday, Jan. 10. Fans “checking in” accrue points toward prizes including a total of $5,000 in college scholarships sponsored by MI Student Aid.
“The ‘Check-in Champ’ contest provides an exciting opportunity for our schools to promote their regular-season girls and boys basketball games,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “We’re eager to see how this will build more excitement at games, both during the regular season and the MHSAA tournament, and we’re appreciative of MI Student Aid for adding significant incentive for students and their families who support their classmates and communities.”
For the remainder of this Michigan high school boys and girls basketball season, fans who attend games will earn points. When registering on the app, fans must select their favorite school. Schools will be divided by Class: A, B, C and D. A $3,000 scholarship will be awarded to the fan who earns the most points overall across all four classes, and $500 scholarships will be awarded to fans who earn the most points in each class.
Only student fans will be eligible to use the college scholarships; however, fans who are not students may still compete for the scholarships and designate them for specific students should they win the contest. All fans, including those who are not students, will be able to earn app “badges” as they accrue points, and the top 100 point-getters will receive shirts printed to celebrate their accomplishment in the contest.
“We are excited about partnering with the MHSAA to launch this new app,” said Anne Wohlfert, Director of the Student Financial Services Bureau at the Michigan Department of Treasury. “We are pleased to offer $5,000 in scholarship dollars to the students who attend the most games. This joint venture aligns with our goals to provide high school students and their families with student financial resources and information.”
The app provides other information for students and fans including their selected schools’ boys and girls basketball team schedules, MHSAA news and an opportunity to share photos through a ‘fan cam.’ Participants may accrue bonus points by answering MHSAA basketball trivia questions and promoting their “check-ins” on social media.
SuperFanHigh is a division of its parent company, SuperFanU and provides fan experiences for more than 300 high schools and colleges/universities across the country. The company is leading the market in developing innovative platforms that allow the communication and marketing between students/fans and schools to be more engaging and efficient.
“We know that our partnership with MHSAA will yield lots of excitement this year across the state of Michigan,” says Kayla Mount, co-founder and COO of SuperFanU.
Fall 2012 Kicks Off Monday
July 31, 2012
The 2012-13 Fall sports season officially begins next week, when approximately 110,000 student-athletes begin practice in eight sports in which Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments.
Practice sessions begin Monday in football, followed by all other sports on Wednesday (Aug. 8). Practice in football must begin Monday for all schools wishing to begin regular-season games the weekend of Aug. 23-26. Schools must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first games, which may not occur before 16 calendar days. All football schools also must conduct at least three days of practice before beginning contact, and those sessions may not include any pads.
In golf and tennis, competition may commence no earlier than after three separate days of team practice, and not before seven calendar days. The first day competition may take place in golf and tennis is Aug. 15. In all other fall sports, contests can take place after seven days of practice for the team and not before nine calendar days. The first day competition may take place in cross country, soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball this fall is Aug.17.
This year, two football dates precede Labor Day, and Thursday varsity games will take place both weeks. Subvarsity competition may begin on Wednesday, Aug. 22. In Week 1, 81 games will be played on Thursday, 222 contests will be played on Friday and 23 games will be played on Saturday. The following weekend, 239 games will be played on Thursday, 67 games will be played on Friday and five games will be played on Saturday.
There are several significant rules changes on football for 2012:
On passing plays, a receiver must first contact and establish control of the ball while inbounds – regardless of the opponent’s action. In other words, a catch cannot be ruled on plays where the receiver may have come down in bounds if not for the action of the defender.
If a player’s helmet comes off during a play, and did not occur as a result of a foul by the opponent, that player must leave the game for one play, unless it happens on the final play of a half or an overtime.
Hand contact by a blocker below the waist of a defender is now considered blocking below the waist.
The kicking team may not contact a member of receiving team on a kickoff until the ball has traveled 10 yards, or unless a member of the receiving team initiates the contact.
Jerseys of the visiting team must be white in color, and home jerseys are restricted in the use of white for varsity competition. This was a rule change made in 2007 for implementation this season.
In soccer, Michigan will not participate in a National Federation rules change this year involving the disqualification from a game when a player receives a second yellow card and the subsequent red card. In Michigan, the player will still be ejected from the contest, but that team will not continue the game a player down.
The penalty for a hand ball by a player other than the goalkeeper to prevent a score has been changed. If the goal is prevented, the penalty remains a disqualification of the player; however, if the goal is scored, the penalty will now be a caution to the player who deliberately handled the ball.
There are no substantial rules change in other fall sports.
The 2012 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals the week of Oct. 1, and wraps up with the Football Playoff Finals on Nov. 23-24. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country:
U.P. Finals -- Oct. 20
L.P. Regionals -- Oct. 26 or 27
L.P. Finals -- Nov. 3
11-Player Football:
Selection Sunday - Oct. 21
Pre-Districts – Oct. 26 or 27
District Finals -- Nov. 2 or 3
Regional Finals -- Nov. 9 or 10
Semifinals -- Nov. 17
Finals -- Nov. 23-24
8-Player Football:
Selection Sunday - Oct. 21
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 26 or 27
Regional Finals -- Nov. 3
Semifinals -- Nov. 10
Finals -- Nov. 16
L.P. Girls Golf:
Regionals -- Oct. 10 or 11 or 12 or 13
Finals -- Oct. 19-20
Soccer:
Boys L.P. Districts -- Oct. 15-20
Boys L.P. Regionals – Oct. 23-27
Boys L.P. Semifinals – Oct. 31
Boys L.P. Finals -- Nov. 3
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Quals -- Nov. 13
Swimming/Diving Finals-Nov. 16-17
Tennis:
U.P. Girls Finals –Oct. 3 or 4 or 5 or 6
L.P. Boys Regionals -- Oct. 11 or 12 or 13
L.P. Finals --Oct. 19-20
Girls Volleyball:
Districts –Oct 29-Nov. 3
Regionals – Nov. 6 & 8
Quarterfinals – Nov. 13
Semifinals – Nov. 15-16
Finals – Nov. 17