New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
1161 Route 130 North P.O. Box 487 Robbinsville, NJ 08691-0487
2011 Cross-Country Committee
Meeting Minutes: Page 1 of 3

Members Present: Carl Rickershauser (State Rules Interpreter), Jim Casey (Central Section Director), Ed
Colona (South Section Director), Wayne Letwink (North II Section Director), Lou Fraulo (North I Section
Director), Steve Shaklee (Boys cross-country coach – Cherokee HS), Tim Grant (Girls cross-country coach
– Pingry School), John Martin (Boys cross-country coach – Westfield), Don Danser (NJSIAA staff) and Len
Pietrewicz (Observer). Absent: Justine Cassavell (Girls cross-country coach – Voorhees), Pete Bruno
(Executive Committee Representative)

Meeting called to order at 9:30 am at the NJSIAA Headquarters in Robbinsville. A moment of silence was
held for Jim Camburn, long-time member of this committee and director of the South Section.
Ed Colona was appointed to take Jim’s place as South Section Director.

It was generally agreed that the tournament went very well, in spite of the unusual snow storm that
“took out” the parks of North I, forcing the North I meet to be held in Thompson Park (Monroe
Township). We cannot thank Thompson Park enough for accommodating this meet on such short notice.
Also enough cannot be said about the hard work of Lou Fraulo and Jim Casey to make sure the “doubleheader”
went off without any problems. The coaches, athletes, administrators and spectators, especially
of North I, are to be commended for their positive attitudes in helping to make a poor situation turn out
to be a good experience for all involved.

There was no correspondence to report on, other than a few concerns from North I coaches when it
became apparent that Garrett Mountain was not going to be able to host the meet. Our primary
concern was to find a site as close to North I geographically as possible and one that most runners would
be familiar with, once it was clear that virtually all the parks in the North I area suffered the same fate as
Garrett and could not guarantee that they would be “fixed” in time. Our number one priority was to
keep the meet on Saturday, since we were aware of the many disruptions in the cross-country schedule
this snow storm caused those in the north of the State. Our first choice was Holmdel Park who said that
the park could not be available on such short notice for several reasons. Thompson Park gave us the o.k
on Wednesday before the meet, provided we could hire outside police because their rangers were
committed to helping with traffic, etc. surrounding the Rutgers home football game. Monroe Township
police agreed to work the meet and the rest is history.

The only other discussion concerned the Awards Ceremony at the Group Meet. It was noted that
schools who had both boys and girls had a difficult time being at the awards and watching the other
finish his/her race. The solution to this problem may lie in the location of the stage where the awards
are presented. It was suggested that the stage be moved to the finish line area, rather than the starting
line. This would make it easier, logistically, for those with both boys and girls teams running. The stage is
where it is because it needs electricity to open the stage and to power the public address system. That
power is only available at its present site by the pond behind the starting line. However, we do use
 

generators at the finish line to power the timing system, so we could do the same for the mobile stage.
If the park will allow us, we will move the stage to the finish line area. If this is not allowed, we will
adjust the time schedule to give more time between the awards ceremonies.
 

Changes in the Tournament Regulations:
 

*Page 1: Transfers on or after October 13, 2011, will not be eligible for post-season play.
Start of the official practice season will again be August 15, 2012,
as per Executive Committee vote.
The opening date for competition will be September 6, 2012.
 

*Page 2: Section date: November 3, 2012
Starting times at all sites:
10:00 am Group III Boys     11:40 am Group IV Boys
10:25 am Group II Boys      12:05 pm Group I Boys
10:50 am Group III Girls      12:30 pm Group IV Girls
11:15 am Group II Girls        12:55 pm Group I Girls

*Page 3: North I Site (barring snow or other disaster) will be Garrett Mountain on November 3, 2012.
*Entries will close Wednesday, October 17, 2012.                                                                                                                                                                                                        School list will be revised according to 2012-2013 Cross-Country Group Classifications
North II Site – Same changes as North I
 

Page 4: Central Site: Date: November 3, 2012. Entries close, October 17, 2012.
South – Same changes as Central. New Meet Director: Ed Colona. Cell: 609-381-8615
e-mail: ecolona@comcast.net
 

Page 5: State Group Meet Date: November 10, 2012
Entries Close Public Schools: October 17, 2012. Non-Public Schools: October 24, 2012
 

Page 6: 2012 National Federation Track and Field Rules
 

*Page 7: For the 2012/2013 seasons, Team IP is the designated vendor
 

*Page 9: State Group Meet: November 10, 2012
Starting Times:
10:00 am N-P B Boys   11:40 am Group I Boys        1:20 pm Group II Boys
10:25 am N-P A Boys   12:05 pm Group IV Boys      1:45 pm Group III Boys
10:50 am N-P B Girls   12:30 pm Group I Girls         2:10 pm Group II Girls
11:15 am N-P A Girls   12:55 pm Group IV Girls       2:35 pm Group III Girls                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 

Page 10: If the stage is located behind the finish line, 15 minutes will be added to the schedule below;
otherwise, the schedule will be as follows:
10:50 am N-P B Boys   12:30 pm Group I Boys       2:10 pm Group II Boys
11:15 am N-P A Boys    12:55 pm Group IV Boys    2:35 pm Group III Boys
11:40 am N-P B Girls     1:20 pm Group I Girls         3:00 pm Group II Girls
12:05 pm N-P A Girls     1:45 pm Group IV Girls       3:25 pm Group III Girls
 

*State Championship (Meet of Champions): Date: November 17, 2012
Schedule:

11:00 am Boys Championship Race
11:45 am Girls Championship Race
12:30 pm – Awards Ceremony (Starting with boys)
 

Foul weather plan for Meet of Champions (3rd Saturday of November)
Because of the nature of the meet (2 races lasting about an hour and a half), and the number of
spectators, roughly 3,000, any “alternate” parking plan involving shuttle bussing is not feasible. The
nearest “walking” off-site parking is Holmdel High School, which is already being used to park the team
busses (approximately 75 in number).
Therefore, the following is proposed.
If current and/or predicted weather conditions indicate that a postponement will be necessary, the Park
must notify the NJSIAA by 12:00 noon on the Friday before. The Park will decide which of the following
postponement dates will be used, depending on actual and/or predicated weather for the weekend:
1. Postponed to Sunday afternoon: 2:00 pm and 2:45 pm race times
2. Postponed to Monday afternoon: 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm race times
3. Postponed to Tuesday afternoon 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm race times
Since the Thanksgiving Holiday is this week, going beyond Tuesday does not seem to be practical.
However, if conditions warrant, it would be considered.
This language will be placed in all future contracts with officials, the ambulance company, Holmdel
Police, and trainers. Everyone involved with the event should check the NJSIAA website in case of
inclement weather happening or predicted for Thursday through the weekend to be sure the meet is
going to take place as scheduled.
 

*Pages 12-15: Changes may occur to the Holmdel Park Regulations. These are usually made, if any, after
January 1, 2012.
 

*Page 16: Public School Deadline: October 17, 2012
Non-Public School Deadline: October 24, 2012