Executive Director’s Update: Centennial Celebrations Continue, Staff Prepare for Legislative Council
By Charles Breithaupt | Thursday, October 08, 2009 1:15 PM
Centennial Celebration
The UIL is proud to be celebrating its 100th anniversary. The Centennial Committee kicked off the Centennial Celebration during the June UIL Legislative Council meeting. Students selected to participate in the Elite 100 Student Leadership Conference were the highlight of the meetings. These students presented their own ideas regarding rule changes and proposals for new activities.
UIL Legislative Council Chairman Curtis Culwell gaveled in the start of the Centennial Celebration and challenged the students of the Elite 100 to continue in their quest for excellence. He also accepted the gratitude of the students for the support for extracurricular activities and for allowing the students an opportunity to present their ideas.
Currently, a book, representing the illustrated history of the 100 years of the UIL, has been sent to the printer for publication. This book, written by author and former UIL Academic Director Bobby Hawthorne, chronicles the origination and development of the UIL through stories and photographs. The book is available for purchase on the UIL Centennial Web site at www.uil100.org.
Following the Legislative Council meeting in October, the UIL will unveil a historical marker, commissioned by the Centennial Committee. This marker will be dedicated by UIL and UT staff, as well as UIL Legislative Council members.
The UIL is asking each high school in Texas to participate in the NFHS National High School Activities Week. During the week of October 11-17, students, coaches and officials will be among those celebrated for their involvement and contributions to extracurricular activities. Along with this special week, the UIL will ask schools to participate in a community service project. These projects may be presented to the UIL for special recognition. For a list of possible community service projects visit the UIL Web site at www.uil.utexas.edu or read the front page Leaguer basket story.
Legislative Council
The 69th annual meeting of the Legislative Council of the University Interscholastic League will be held on Sunday and Monday, Oct. 25-26 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center in Austin. A public hearing will commence at 8 a.m. providing speakers an opportunity to present proposals to the Council. The Council also will consider written proposals, staff reports and reports from each of the standing committees, as well as reports from three ad-hoc committees. Any proposal passed by a standing committee will be presented to the entire Council for consideration. All proposals passed by the Legislative Council must be approved by the Commissioner of Education prior to implementation.
Several proposals include those who are interested in adding new activities. Advocates for lacrosse, ice hockey, cheerleading, bowling, chess and field hockey are among others who are requesting the UIL add new activities. Many schools have indicated to us that adding new activities would be detrimental in the current economy.
The cheerleading proposal is interesting because most schools already sponsor cheerleading. The advocates for cheerleading are asking that cheerleading have a state championship to recognize the work the students are already doing. Simply stated, proponents are asking the UIL to have a state championship for cheerleading, without changing the current structure of the activity. The proposal requests a state championship, for who choose to participate, be held without district or regional elimination events, eliminating additional expense.
Officials Registration
In March 2009, the UIL began the process of allowing sports officials to register with our organization. This decision was reached primarily on the basis of the number of individual members and local officiating chapters who did not wish to join Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO), as well as a large number of schools who felt they were not being properly served by TASO. Current UIL rules require officials to register with either TASO or UIL.
In 1977, the UIL helped organize what is now known as TASO. Since 1914, the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules have stated that the decisions of the officials are final. Furthermore, the UIL Compliance Office has adjudicated more than 6,000 incident reports sent in by officials during the past five years. In 96 percent of those cases, the officials were supported. The Legislative Council and the member schools have approved fee schedules for officials that make them among the highest paid officials in the country. It is estimated that UIL member schools paid approximately $50 million for officiating services last year.
Regional Sites
Dates for the regional activities for the spring of 2010 have been set. The dates selected for UIL events were carefully planned around the TAKS testing dates. While we wish to protect the integrity of the school day, staff felt it was important to schedule our events on days other than TAKS testing dates. As end of course exams begin in 2011, the Texas Education Agency has indicated that schools will have local options to schedule during a two-week window. This should eliminate future conflicts with testing and UIL Regional and State spring meet activities.
State Championships
The UIL 2009-10 state championship events begin this fall. Two State Champions will be crowned in team tennis, three in marching band, 10 team and 10 individuals in cross country and five in volleyball during the month of November. In December, 12 football State Champions will be crowned. At each of these events, the history and significance of the event will be celebrated.