'Check-in Champ' Back with More Prizes
August 30, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association and SuperFanHigh have again launched the "Check-in Champ" app to allow students, faculty, alumni, community members and all fans to earn prizes and college scholarships by showing support for high school football teams.
And there’s plenty of time to catch up and win season and weekly awards as the season moves into its second weekend.
To participate, fans simply need to download the “Check-in Champ” app for free from Apple iTunes by searching “MHSAA” or by searching “BOTF” on the Google Play online store and then check in at high school football games they are attending this season. SuperFanHigh will track these check-ins and provide standings of fans who attend the most events statewide. Fans “checking in” accrue points toward prizes including a total of $4,000 in college scholarships powered by MI Student Aid.
For the remainder of this Michigan high school football 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 $2,000 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 each week those who check into games will be registered into a drawing for a $50 gift card.
The app provides other information for students and fans including their selected schools’ football team schedules, MHSAA news and an opportunity to share photos through a ‘fan cam.’ Participants may accrue bonus points by answering MHSAA football 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.
Inaugural MHSAA Junior High/Middle School Cross Country Regionals to Offer Postseason Experience
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 14, 2021
The first postseason events in Michigan High School Athletic Association history for students at the junior high/middle school level will be conducted in cross country this season at eight Regional sites during the second half of October.
The Junior High/Middle School Cross Country Regionals were approved by the MHSAA Representative Council during its Spring 2020 meeting, on recommendation of the MHSAA’s Junior High/Middle School Committee. Students from the nearly 650 MHSAA-member junior highs and middle schools may participate, with Regional meets not counting against the 10 events teams are allowed to compete in during the regular season.
“The MHSAA has, over the last decade, grown its investment in junior high and middle school athletics in hopes of providing memorable experiences earlier that will result in students wanting to continue playing sports longer instead of stopping before they even reach high school,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “Adding a postseason element to cross country may be just the start of how we can provide more opportunities for our younger students to compete in ways that will keep them excited to return next season.”
Each of eight host sites will conduct one girls and one boys race. Host sites determined the dates Regionals will be run. Teams may enter up to 20 participants in each race, dependent on the size of their school (as larger schools may enter more participants). The Regional races will be two miles in length, with girls and boys teams assigned to sites based on their regional “Zone” – see attached map.
► Zone 1 – Saturday, Oct. 16, hosted by Portage Central High School at Portage West Middle School
► Zone 2 – Saturday, Oct. 23, hosted by Hudson High School at Hudson High School
► Zone 3 – Saturday, Oct. 23, hosted by Macomb Dakota High School at Macomb Dakota High School
► Zone 4 – Saturday, Oct. 16, hosted by Midland High School at Northwood University
► Zone 5 – Saturday, Oct. 23, hosted by Carson City-Crystal High School at Carson City-Crystal High School
► Zone 6 – Friday, Oct. 29, hosted by Grand Rapids Public Schools at University Prep Academy
► Zone 7 – Saturday, Oct. 23, hosted by Gaylord High School at Michaywe Golf Course
Zone 8 – Friday, Oct. 22, hosted by Marquette High School at Gentz Homestead Golf Course
Team championship trophies will be awarded to the top-placing girls and boys teams at each Regional. Also, the top 20 individual finishers in each race will receive medals.