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Does anyone have knowledge of a MSHSAA rule limiting high school track athletes from competing beyond 250 mile outside the state lines?
I thought I had read on some board a year or two ago about a nationally ranked distance runner from the KC area that was denied an exemption to this rule and actually sat out his senior year in protest.
I think the rule in question was by-law 311.4.c
From memory I think this rule applied to track & field only.

Go to the Missouri high school running website:

http://www.mohsrunning.com/

Click on “Trackâ€Â

You can compete wherever you want (unattached) before 2 weeks before the start of the track season. So MO athletes CAN compete at Reno, but they cannot compete at Nike Indoor because that is within the 2 weeks before the season.

During the season you cannot go more than 250 miles from the state.

After the season you can go more than 250 miles, but you can't go to "All-star Meets." This means that you can compete at AOC, because anyone who runs fast enough can compete there, but you can't compete at Golden West because they handpick those fields.

If you are a graduating senior, you can do whatever you want after the state track meet such as compete in Golden West.

This is what Coach Staggs and Coach Lohr say, sorry if I butchered anything.

is there any reasoning behind this? This rule seems pretty absurd if you ask me....

ashcraftpv wrote:is there any reasoning behind this? This rule seems pretty absurd if you ask me....

Texas had a similar inane rule back in the day. Each athlete was limited to 6 meets...whether you competed for your school or unattached. That's why Brandon Richards moved from Waco to Santa Barbara for his senior year. His dad got fed up with dealing with the UIL on the issue.

Coach Staggs said it used to be a 125 mile rule

I think it is ridiculous too. Something about not giving the rich schools an advantage... whatever

Here are some quotes from the Daniel's report that I thought were of particular interest:

“One reason, they noted in testimony, that they had been told the 250 mile rule was in place was to insure academic integrity by keeping student-athletes in school. They noted that if this was the case then why was a GPA of .70 or above (which is a combination of five (5) D-'s and two (2) F's per semester) sufficient to maintain eligibility according to Section 213.0 on page 21 of the 2003 MSHSAA Handbook regarding Academic Requirements. This was especially of interest to the committee. Ramsey also noted that football and basketball teams were allowed to travel outside of the 250 mile radius and there was no school he had ever seen whose cross country team had a lower GPA than either of these sports. “
(From Adam Perkins testimony in front of Missouri House of Representatives Tourism & Cultural Affairs Committee)

“MSHSAA rules only prohibit the travel to competitions, such as tournaments, with more than two teams. This is how football teams are allowed to travel all over the country and play. This rule might seem a little bias because it would very difficult for three football teams to play a game at the same time. “
From Brandon Daniel's editorial comments

“I'm hoping the Board [MSHSAA Board of Directors] will realize that other states allow traveling, and I think they need to look the rule over. I just don't like my state association hindering athletes. Forty-seven other states allow athletes to travel to appropriate competitions, and it is not right for MSHSAA to hinder Missouri track & field athletes from doing the same.â€Â

A bill has been introduced in the Mo House of Reps (HB920) that prohibits any entity from preventing student/athletes from competing in or training for any sports event recognized by the USOC.
You can see the bill itself at:
www.house.state.mo.us
click on "2004 Bill info"
click on "Bill tracking search"
put in HB920
I dont know the full impact of this bill, but its intention is to eliminate the "250 mile rule"
I encourage everyone to contact your local Rep and ask any questions you may have, and voice your support for thhis bill.

there's also rules that your school coach can't help you out of season, and no one else can help u during the season unless your coach is also there....at least thats what i've been told in bits in pieces from my coach and others. so that means no pv camps during the season unless your coach comes with you. and i think the two weeks before the season might be the real cutoff for that rule...

any other states like that? is that a national thing or just a weird missouri thing?

With all these obscure rules for high school athletes in Missouri I was wondering if there is a web site that lists in detail the context of these rules. It would be nice for a parent access to resurch these rules as needed. The mshsaa web page has a "generic" sterile version posted. But access to the "nuts and Bolts" of these rules of competition would be nice to have on hand. If not free access would there be a place to purchase a hard copy. Thanks

1yeldud1 wrote:With all these obscure rules for high school athletes in Missouri I was wondering if there is a web site that lists in detail the context of these rules. It would be nice for a parent access to resurch these rules as needed. The mshsaa web page has a "generic" sterile version posted. But access to the "nuts and Bolts" of these rules of competition would be nice to have on hand. If not free access would there be a place to purchase a hard copy. Thanks

I agree!

Unfortunately, It doesn't seem to work like that. I've seen MSHSAA,NFHS,AAU, & USATF all point fingers at one another and send you from one place to another to get an answer. To be fair, the AAU and USATF folks have done a better job of distributing info than the MSHSAA or NFHS ever will.

Bottom line, the NFHS can't seem to keep track of their own "official" but "non-published" rules unless someone crys foul about someone else and they have to research it. Of course, it infers that the person who knows the rulemakers best often has the advantage. I've thought all the rules should have been posted clearly on a number of websites by now, and yet the NFHS and MSHSAA hold on to the funds they generate from selling a $5 book(s) like its manna from heaven. Does anyone get rich from this, or is it time for the current leaderships in these organizations need to change first?

The sad part of this problem is that some kid gets "raked" over the coals in order for the general public to find out this information. Sometimes as adults we tend to loose sight of the real objectives of kids in sports. I know that you vaultdad seem to have your priorities in the right place, if ALL ADULTS would work as hard as they could for kids possibly, just possibly we could help some children from going down the wrong paths in life. But when we have to act like lawyers just to get simple information, you have to ask your self are we all going the same direction ????????