Footlocker and NXN pay the school and the school sends the runner.
Problem solved.
Footlocker and NXN pay the school and the school sends the runner.
Problem solved.
easily? st x's coach has to raise $15k to fund the trip. with a large base of alumni who are pissed at the OHSAA, i hope the donations come rolling in and x gets the cost of the trip covered. but it's not like the money is easily appearing out of thin air.
and as others have said, i fully expect this rule to be overturned when it's time to send football players to the under armor game, all expenses paid.
RichE wrote:
They are not "representing the school" and the rule prohibits receiving travel etc.
The rule says... "Travel, meals and lodging expenses may be accepted provided those expenses are not conditioned on the individual’s or team’s place finish or performance or given on an incentive basis."
Again, how did they interpret it this way?
Finally - the kids are a high school team running under a different name. We are letting Nike and Footlocker control high school sports. The season should be over at the state meet of champions for each state.
So why isn't the Ohio federation declaring all the basketball players playing AAU travel ball ineligible? Or the kids who play in the McDonald's all-star games or any one of a number of post-season prep basketball games? Or the Army football game or other "all-star" football games? Sounds like selective enforcement. Oh, and did I mention that the same Ohio federation has no problem slapping the logos of their corporate sponsors (Farmers, Marathon oil) on these same kids at sanctioned events. Just another reminder that it's just not at the IOC, FIFA and NCAA that you'll find petty, small minded, greedy people running sports against the best interest of the athletes.
I don't see it as controling HS sports. They provide a venue for kids to compete against the best in the region/nation. My team went to our NXN regional and it was the icing on our season. The State meet was our main priority though. If there is no national organization to create these meets and a company does it and promotes their brand at the same time, who cares.
about space wrote:
Finally - the kids are a high school team running under a different name. We are letting Nike and Footlocker control high school sports. The season should be over at the state meet of champions for each state.
[quote]about space wrote:
about space wrote:
Finally - the kids are a high school team running under a different name. We are letting Nike and Footlocker control high school sports. The season should be over at the state meet of champions for each state.
These races are no different, as far as the high school association is concerned) than a regular old 5K. We have a local 5k (we're not Ohio) who lets High Schoolers in for free. They re, in effect, taking money. Is this against Ohio rules?
There is nothing wrong with kids participating in a sport they love for as long as they want.
This is the state that disqualified a state champion and all-time Ohio cross country great Rachel Sauder for wearing tights under her uniform that the whole team didn't wear.The same state that still doesn't recognize that the 2 mile record by Alan Scharsu is about 5 seconds better than the 3200 meter record which is the only one they recognize. The same state that wouldn't allow a runner with a shot to run in a fast open race in California during the season, like California did in 1979 when Jeff Nelson set a national record that lasted 19 years.
runn wrote:
about space wrote:Finally - the kids are a high school team running under a different name. We are letting Nike and Footlocker control high school sports. The season should be over at the state meet of champions for each state.
These races are no different, as far as the high school association is concerned) than a regular old 5K. We have a local 5k (we're not Ohio) who lets High Schoolers in for free. They re, in effect, taking money. Is this against Ohio rules?
There is nothing wrong with kids participating in a sport they love for as long as they want.
kljklj wrote:
Footlocker and NXN pay the school and the school sends the runner.
Problem solved.
NCAA eligibility rules won't allow that. Otherwise, what's to stop a college or private company from funneling beaucoup funds to the school of a prodigy in order to get the money into his hands?
As I understand it, NCAA would be fine with real and necessary expenses being covered by Nike or Foot Locker, directly on the kid's behalf. Easier to monitor and track.
Pardon my ignorance on the issue but i want clarification for someone in the know...
1) who, besides the student or family, is paying for travel? Does FL or NXN give a stipend or does the school pay?
2) why is this not considered in season? Doesn't the season end when there are no more meets?
3) how are these athletes not representing the school? Don't they wear their HS uniforms or Singlets? Don't they run with their school affiliation?
really?????? wrote:
Pardon my ignorance on the issue but i want clarification for someone in the know...
1) who, besides the student or family, is paying for travel? Does FL or NXN give a stipend or does the school pay?
2) why is this not considered in season? Doesn't the season end when there are no more meets?
3) how are these athletes not representing the school? Don't they wear their HS uniforms or Singlets? Don't they run with their school affiliation?
1) Normally, NXN or FLN pays for expenses like getting to the meet and staying at the hotel. With Ohio forbidding their athletes to accept that this year, they have to raise the money on their own.
2) "In season" is talking about the state season, which ends with the final state meet. Any post-state meet is post season.
3) You can't use high school issued equipment (jerseys) for the NXN or FLN meets. You run either unattached or with a club (and for scoring purposes, only clubs made up of runners from the same school will be included in the team standings).
Now i understand how ridiculous this rule is. Thanks.
Raising the money still comes with problems. Anyone giving money to the athlete that is not a parent or legal guardian is considered a "legal stranger" and creates a problem with amateur status according to the bylaw just as much as if Footlocker or Nike provided the funds. Beyond the financial means of the individual's family, either the school or an organization affiliated with and approved by the local school board (booster organization) can pay expenses on the athlete's behalf.
cleveland rocks wrote:
runn wrote:Ohio is the state that eventually went to W Bush to let him have a second term. So, this is not the first politically stupid thing they've done.
I see a lawsuit- the state can't tell some kid who he/she can get money from. This is out of season and they are not representing their school.
Actually Ohio most recently voted for Obama. Which implies that current Ohio citizens, making this rule, are the same that voted Obama to the presidency.
Nope. High school sports rule interpretation voters lag presidential election voters by 12 years. Everyone knows that.
Schools cannot pay for this trip. It will count as a school event that is unsanctioned and be cause for disqualification and penalties next season.
Could be a simple fix if Nike pulled strings to be sanctioned by state federations. It's some paperwork but at least it would give validity to the event as a true national championship. As is the kids aren't even wearing their school uniform. Kinda sad.
i say we privatize high school athletics. no schools, no rules.
about space wrote:
Finally - the kids are a high school team running under a different name. We are letting Nike and Footlocker control high school sports. The season should be over at the state meet of champions for each state.
No, nobody is controlling anyone here. The meets are set up, who ever chooses to run will run, there is no one forcing these kids or schools to run these meets. Stop trying to place the blame on someone.
The Animal Within wrote:
Schools cannot pay for this trip. It will count as a school event that is unsanctioned and be cause for disqualification and penalties next season.
Could be a simple fix if Nike pulled strings to be sanctioned by state federations. It's some paperwork but at least it would give validity to the event as a true national championship. As is the kids aren't even wearing their school uniform. Kinda sad.
That would actually exclude more schools. Several states have caps on how long the season can be. Also, there are travel caps (my state is 800mi, I think) on how far the state athletic people are willing to sanction.
The real thing people ought to be worried about is these swag bags that Nike/FL hand out at their events. I know that in my state those would be considered a violation of the athlete's amateur status, making them ineligible for a year. I've told my athletes to not post any pictures of their free stuff on fb/twitter.
There is a reason why the states don't allow teams to travel too far out of state or go to national competitions. National events and long travel focus on the ultra elite few athletes and teams. The benefits gained by participating in HS athletics can be achieved by competing at the local and state level. That may sound quaint, but that is the truth. Learning the value of hardwork, teamwork, sportsmanship, and leadership can be achieved just as well preparing to compete within the conference as it can getting ready for a national meet, sometimes more so. I had an athlete who qualified for Foot Locker years ago. It was a great experience for him, but it didn't really change him as a person. His scholarship offers didn't change after he qualified for the meet. A lot of his best memories were competing at the local level and the time spent doing the "miles of trials" with his teammates at practice.
As far as scholarships go, what's the difference if a guy runs 15:20 to finish top 3 at his state and if he runs 15:20 to finish top 30 at NXN? Nothing really, providing both courses are legit. With the internet these days, the very top kids will get noticed whether they go to FL/NXN or not.
The thing I really like about the team side of NXN is that they only allow teams with athletes from the the same school. It means it is a true team championship. AAU sports (as well as the USATF post season XC) are basically All-Star teams where the team isn't developed as much as recruited. I took teams to the USATF meets a couple of times and we had a great time. I took some of the athletes I coached in HS and added some athletes from other schools in our area. The girls had fun with it and made some new friends. However, in looking back, those girls best experiences were with their teammates with whom they trained all season, not for a couple of weeks in November.
It's great that Foot Locker and NXN exist, but we shouldn't see it as some travesty when a team can't go because the state association doesn't see it as adding to the core values of high school athletics.
watchout wrote:
3) You can't use high school issued equipment (jerseys) for the NXN or FLN meets. You run either unattached or with a club (and for scoring purposes, only clubs made up of runners from the same school will be included in the team standings).
Requiring that all runners be FROM the same school without running FOR that school is silliness. I assume this is required to get around the maze of conflicting state federation regulations.
In the NY/NE regional, the uniform rule was not enforced as far as I could see. There were many runners that had on what appeared to be their normal HS uniforms while others had generic or custom "club" uniforms.