Congrats to Brockton!

[clifbar]

Reppin' MA with a top-5 ranking!

[frontunner247]

top 5 rankin of what?


O i dont even know what NTN means?

[Hath]

Did they change something this year or are MA teams still not able to compete in NTN?

EDIT: and congrats Brockton, that's cool that they got ranked top 5.

[kk.]

MA teams aren't allowed???

[MontyXC1]

congrats for what

they havnt done anything yet

[Iron Man]

MA teams aren't allowed???

http://www.dyestat.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=936997

The MIAA doesnt allow it.
From the MSTCA website:

The last two years Nike Corporation has offered a Nike Cross Country Team Championship Meet. They created a system to invite the top teams in their view from around the country to compete in this meet. If you look at the results of the meet most of the teams compete as “clubs” at this meet. If a team where to be invited from Massachusetts that team would have to refuse the invitation. You could not play the game of creating a club and therefore travel under that name. The MIAA rule is very clear on this. It is rule 40.5.3 dealing with out of season coaching. It states, “at no time may the coach supervise any group or subgroup which includes 50% or more students who are among his/her candidates. (The MIAA Board of Directors advises that “sub-groups extends to the number of candidates who are actually playing or competing at any one time..)” An example of this would be that a coach feels that he or she might get a team invitation so they invite other local cross country athletes to join him at practice each day so that the number of athletes he is coaching has more than 50% not from his school. Then he/she would “select” his/her top 7 athletes to go to this meet. This would be illegal since the ruling deals with who is actually playing or competing at any one time and all of those selected in this example would be from his/her school.

You might also concern yourself with the punishment for breaking this rule…rule 40.7…states “Because these standards are designed to protect young people from unfair and inequitable scenarios, any coach who violates, or does not prevent violations, of these standards will be rendered ineligible to participate or be present at any MIAA approved or sponsored interscholastic competition in that sport for up to one year” If a violation is inadvertent or relatively minor, this penalty may be reduced by the Board of Directors, or its designee”


There is a loophole to all of this. The coach would have to remove him/herself from the team during NTN training and competition. Basically, the team would have to train and travel on their own for NTN, which would not be in violation of any MIAA rules.

[hoosier-at-heart]

If out of season coaching is the only problem, then Massachusetts teams could go to NTN because NTN does not allow regular season coaches to coach their teams at NTN if state association rules are a problem.

[NYrunner]

Even if the coach went it says he would have to sit out up to one year in that sport? So he "misses" one season. He could easily coach from an un-official position during that year.

Most schools will never come close to a NTN bid so if I had a special team that could go I would do it and just deal with the penalty. Hell if it cost me my job to give the kids what they deserve I would do it.

I hope Brockton can go to NTN if they get an invite. They have a very good team. I have them #1 in my preseason picks and I think they could jump up to #1 when the season starts in the official rankings.....

I doubt any coach would pass up a chance for their team to go to NTN if the team decided they would take the risk of punishment.

[JDuBeau9]

congrats for what

they havnt done anything yet

Figures... someone has to be a pessimist

[zoomwaffleswithsyrup]

Figures... someone has to be a pessimist
Wizard? :(

[themanontherun]

Same problem in Michigan. And btw, Brockton has a history of good teams and individuals, so it is not totally sure that the coach would not be missing an NTN season.

[kk.]

Well from the looks of it, I thought they could get around the rule by just treating it the same way as relays for track.

[Killer]

yay

[Killer]

nay

[bdaniels]

Wizard? :(

QFIrony :D

bd

[Killer]

bd likes NTN???!!