The Minnesota Hockey Board of Directors (“Board”) has enacted modifications to its Participation Rule, effective for next season. The changes, which are intended to preserve and enhance Minnesota’s unique community-based model, include the removal of the exemption for players changing schools and the addition of a definition of a school.

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Sexual/Racial/Religious Harassment/Violence and Hazing in League-sponsored Athletic and Fine ARts Activities 300.00 Bylaws Administration of Student Eligibility Bylaws. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 700 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Click on the following links for more information about Minnesota gambling regulatory statutes. These links bring you to the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Gambling Regulations; Lawful gambling; State Lottery; Parimutuel racing; Gambling Enforcement; Statute regarding compacts for indian gaming; Agency rules and regulations. In a civil lawsuit filed Oct. 5, the parents of four Minnesota high school athletes sued the Minnesota State High School League over spectator restrictions regarding fall sports. The high school students live in Rockford, Cold Spring, Richmond and Starbuck.

When the Board first considered recognizing open-enrollment for the 2009-10 season, there was concern that recruiting and all-star teams would occur, severely undermining our community-based model. To prevent this, a significant amount of language was added to the Participation Rule to protect this model, including a one year waiting period.

If a player changed schools without a corresponding change in address, they could not participate at the highest level at their new program for one year. The Minnesota State High School League has a similar rule for players changing schools without a change in address.

There are some circumstances where this waiting period was not fair to the player. An example would be a student that attends a school that only offers K-8. After they finished 8th grade, those players have to change schools, often ending up at a school in a different area. The District Directors thought an exemption should be granted in this case, since the player had no choice but to change schools. This exemption was originally added for the 2011-12 season.

The exemption was re-worded multiple times in subsequent seasons to try to limit the circumstances under which it was applicable. Specifically, the most recent verbiage allowed the exemption for all players transitioning from Elementary School to Middle School, and those transitioning from Middle School to High School. This definition did not have the intended effects and incidentally resulted in some associations losing a significant number of players to other associations.

At the January 2015 meeting, the Board determined the exemption was causing more problems than it prevented. Accordingly, the Board voted to remove this automatic exemption starting with the 2015-16 Season. The District Directors will now handle these situations on an individual basis, which the Participation Rule has always allowed.

The Board took additional action on the Participation Rule at its annual meeting this past weekend. The most recent change is the clarification of a definition of a school as it relates to the Participation Rule. The current version of the Participation Rule is posted below with recent changes marked in grey.

Minnesota Hockey will continue to tweak the Participation Rule as needed to protect our community-based model.

The Minnesota State High School League violated its own bylaws when its board of directors voted to move the football and volleyball seasons out of the fall season, according to motion filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court.

The motion seeking a temporary restraining order to revoke the changes the league made to its fall 2020 athletic seasons in a board meeting on Aug. 4.

The motion, filed by on behalf of three unnamed central Minnesota high school athletes, contends that league rules state that such changes are the domain of the league's representative assembly, a legislative body of up to 48 people who represent its 16 administrative regions, and asks that the board of directors' ruling be set aside.

'We contend that the league's board didn't have the authority to take the action it did,' said Sam Diehl, a partner with the Saul Ewing, Arnstein and Lehr law firm and the lead attorney on the suit. 'We're not trying to dictate the results. Our stated objective is simply that we believe the league has not followed its own rules.'

Diehl added that the motion is intended to aid all sports affected by the high school ruling. 'Our plaintiffs play volleyball, football, basketball, baseball and golf,' Diehl said. 'This decision is not being sought for any one sport.'

The motion is expected to go before a judge on Friday.

Asked to comment on the filing, league communications director Tim Leighton said, 'The league does not comment on filed, pending or threatened legal action.'

The filing comes amid recent public opposition to the league's decision to push football and volleyball to a new season in March because of COVID-19 concerns. Some states, including Louisiana and Michigan, have reversed their original stance on delaying the football season and have since moved forward with plans to resume play this fall.

Minnesota is the only state in the five-state area — North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin — not currently playing football games and volleyball matches this fall. The league granted three-week practice periods for both sports that began on Monday.

On Saturday a newly formed Facebook group called Let Them Play MN had more than 100 people turn out for a peaceful protest outside the governor's residence in St. Paul.

Site organizer Dawn Gillman said since creating the site, support 'has been unbelievable. We started it on Sept. 9 and since then we've been flooded with thousands of stories from families about what football means to them. It's good to feel the kids excited again.'

Gillman said a petition on Change.org asking the league to rethink its decision has gained more than 17,000 signatures.

'It's exciting,' she said. 'I told my kids that this is modern-day social studies. People coming together in a gracious way, not politically motivated, with one common goal. We're showing we can do it and do it nicely.'

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