Council Reaffirms Winter Sports Will Play
January 27, 2021
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association reaffirmed its commitment today to play Winter sports when current restrictions are lifted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Winter contact sports – girls and boys basketball, competitive cheer, ice hockey and wrestling – are allowed presently to participate in non-contact activities only, per an MDHHS emergency order restricting contact activity and competition due to COVID-19.
Non-contact Winter sports – girls and boys bowling, girls gymnastics, girls and boys alpine skiing and girls and boys swimming & diving – are able to participate in those activities fully.
The MDHHS limitations on Winter contact sports were set to expire at the end of January, but were extended last week by MDHHS through Feb. 21.
“Each week, we see hundreds of examples of children and families competing in non-school competition, both in-state and out-of-state,” Uyl said. “This not only is in violation of current MDHHS orders, but sending all of these families into different states will only become an impediment to getting students back in school fulltime.
“But we can contribute to students returning to in-person learning by allowing MHSAA member schools to begin full activities, participating locally and against more local competition, and under the guidance of trained, professional educators.”
This past weekend the MHSAA concluded its remaining Fall tournaments with 11-Player Football Finals. Earlier this month, Girls Volleyball, Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving and 8-Player Football Finals were competed to conclude those seasons. All four were allowed to complete their seasons because those teams took part in the MDHHS rapid testing pilot program.
Results of that program were overwhelmingly positive. A total of 5,376 individuals (athletes, coaches, team personnel, cheerleaders, etc.) were tested, and 57 – or 1 percent – tested positive at some point in the pilot. Nearly 30,000 rapid antigen tests were administered – and 99.8 percent were negative. (All four data points were through Jan. 19 and provided to the MHSAA by the MDHHS.)
As of Monday (Jan. 25), Winter contact sports had begun in 38 states, including border states Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Council Approves Proposals Providing Roster, Schedule Flexibility at Winter Meeting
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 23, 2026
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association approved a pair of proposals during its Winter Meeting on March 20 in East Lansing that increase roster flexibility in softball and schedule flexibility in track & field and will take immediate effect for this upcoming spring season.
The Council approved a Softball Committee proposal to allow athletes to compete on teams in multiple levels of that sport on the same day, as long as those athletes do not exceed 38 regular-season games in total across all levels. This mirrors what is currently allowed in baseball.
The Council also approved a Track & Field Committee recommendation allowing for Regional competitions to be conducted on Wednesdays, in addition to the current Thursday-Saturday window. This adjustment will allow for Regionals to be competed this season from May 13-16.
Also approved for the start of the 2026-27 school year were matching proposals from the Golf and Tennis Committees adjusting the allowed first day of competition. Teams in those sports may now compete for the first time after three separate days of practice, but not before four calendar days after the first date of practice is permitted. All fall sports for 2026-27 are allowed to begin practice Aug. 10.
Additionally, the Council received a report on personal branding activity (PBA) deals students have made since the Council approved the allowance of PBA on Jan. 27. The Council also discussed the development of the online Transfer Tracker designed to guide schools on eligibility determinations whenever a student transfers schools after beginning ninth grade. The Council will consider taking action on use of the Transfer Tracker during its Spring Meeting, May 3-4.
The Representative Council is the legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.