Current year goals…

The upcoming Board meeting, Monday August 15^th, follows a very productive study session.  Included in the study session were conference chairs and members of the Superintendents Advisory Committee. Shared with the group were updates on current issues, progress on the 2008-2013 AIA Strategic Plan and goals for 2011-2012. 

The Board will officially approve action taken in regards to concussion education and awareness. The Association was very involved in the drafting of SB 1521, which basically mirrored the AIA Policy approved by the AIA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee in December 2010 and The AIA Executive Board in January 2011. This policy was adopted as the language for the now law. AIA is proud of the relationship with Cardinals, Barrows/St. Joseph Hospital and ASU, which has produced Brainbook. The group heard about the concussion education module and mandated that all students will take the research based educational course developed through this partnership.  Arizona will now have education available and mandated for coaches, officials and students, providing for one of the if not the most comprehensive concussion education programs in the country... watch for more with a news conference on August 16^th officially announcing the launch of Brainbook.

The study session also reflected that the association has completed 90% of the objectives identified in the 2008-2013 AIA Strategic Plan. Completion of the fiscal and tournament reconfiguration will be completed this year. In addition, the most comprehensive scheduling program hit the mark by reducing travel overall by 35%. While the initial programming required 100’s of hours of work, it sets the foundation to improve the scheduling process, reducing travel costs and keeping students in class. While we recognize we cannot create a system regular or post season to reduce all travel, we believe that this program addresses the concerns raised.

Finally, the study session included a briefing of the goals for the 2011-2012 academic year. The goals included:

• Transfer/hardship appeals based on state grading of member schools.
• School funding.
• Seat time.
• New activities.
• Title IX.
• Partnerships
• Hotel program (Prescott – pilot)
• LRG (School licensing of mascots)
• USAVB partnership.
• Special Olympics-Unified Sports through AIA Academy.
• GetTix.net - implement and explore online ticketing option.
• Continue Education and Awareness of AIA Policies and Procedures.
• In-service all AIA Committee Chairs.
• Implement Committee Nomination and Diversity Policies.
• New ad-Hoc Committees
  • Diversity Committee.
  • Committee on Competitive Equity.
  • Committee on Revenues and Disbursements.
• Complete Tournament Reconfiguration.
• Identify and Implement Goals for AIA Financial Reserves.
• Identify and Seek Long Term Venue Options.

The AIA staff is ready to meet the goals and objectives for the upcoming year as set forth by The Board and conference leadership.