High School Sports: Rules remain in force, including SDSSAA transfer policy

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A full return of high school sports programming means a return to all the rules and regulations that come with it.

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No exceptions, no exemptions, no suspensions of policy.

That brings some previously contentious regulations, like the SDSSAA/OFSAA transfer policy, into sharp focus.

You might ask why we even require such a policy at the high school level — and believe me, there are plenty around who will rail against it.

What it all comes down to, though, is OFSAA’s final word on the matter — a final word that affects an entire team’s eligibility if all the Ts aren’t crossed and the Is dotted.

Simply put, a senior team in selected sports vying to earn a berth at an OFSAA championship must use only OFSAA-eligible players from the first hint of competition at the local district level, including pre-season, inter-squad and exhibition games.

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So if a local district has any notion of ignoring the transfer process and a transferring student lands on one of its senior teams, this will negate the entire team’s eligibility for competition at the provincial level.

Wowzers. That’s harsh.

So yes, a policy exists locally. Yes, it replicates the OFSAA policy and yes, in very specific circumstances, it does prevent an untold number of transferring students from participating in a sport they may love in their new school, despite any attempts the local appeal committee may make to facilitate eligibility.

Perhaps one day, local program leaders will decide that these eligibility restrictions at the local level carry more weight than a team’s ability to grace an OFSAA championship, but now at least, the policy remains in force.

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All students must be processed through the SDSSAA transfer appeal process before they may be considered eligible to play any sport at their new school. Updated forms are available on the SDSSAA website.

High school notes

This week, cross-country running and senior boys football open their seasons.

Next week, boys baseball and girls flag football (Monday), girls basketball and boys volleyball (Wednesday) and junior boys football (Thursday) will kick off their respective seasons, as well.

And though we’ve only just begun, the first championship of the fall sport season, the SDSSAA Golf Championship, will officially get underway at Lively Golf Course next Thursday with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.

Dave Makela is the athletic administrator for the Sudbury District Secondary Schools Athletic Association. His columns runs every week.