VHSL proposes revised suspension policy, contest limits

Virginia High School League members will have a chance to review the organization’s revised suspension policy and contest limits when they meet March 9-10 in Richmond.

Both proposals were adopted in January by the VHSL’s Executive Committee. The committee voted 27-3 in favor of the suspension policy and 31-0 in favor of the contest limitation rule.

Each classification board meets Thursday to discuss them further. If any classification requests a review of either proposal based on a majority vote of those present, then the proposal will be discussed Friday by the entire VHSL membership, where it will either be overturned or approved.

If there is no review requested or the items are approved Friday, they go into effect July 1 for the 2023-24 school year.

To make things more equal, the ejection policy was changed from one constant number for all sports to a percentage of games played.

Under the ejection proposal, any player or coach who engages in fighting will result in an immediate removal from that game as well as a minimum suspension of 30% of the overall regular-season games. The number of missed games depends on each sport’s total number of regular-season games.

For example, baseball right now plays 20 regular-season games. If a baseball player or coach is ejected for fighting, then they are disqualified from that game and must also sit out the next six games based on the 30% rule.

Currently, ejection for fighting is a three-game suspension.

Profanity used against an official will result in a suspension that covers 20% of the total game participation. The 20% rule also applies to athletes who leave the bench area and participate in an altercation. That would mean a minimum four-game suspension in baseball for example. In each case, the suspension goes into effect immediately.

Currently, ejection for using profanity or leaving the bench to participate in an altercation is a two-game suspension.

A coach, team personnel or a contestant who “addresses a coach, contestant or official using hate speech, ethnically or racially insensitive expressions” will be automatically ejected from the game in addition to being unable to participate in 30% of that sport’s regular-season game total.

Currently, a coach, team personnel or contestant who uses hate speech must sit out the next game.

If the ejected individual is unable to complete their suspension term, it would carry over into the next season, except for graduating seniors. 

The other legislative item deals with expanding the regular-season schedule, including invitationals, for baseball (20 to 21 games), basketball (22 to 23), field hockey (16 to 17), lacrosse (14 to 16), soccer (16 to 17) and softball (20 to 21).

Wrestling would reduce the number of matches from 60 to 50 with 12 contest dates, five of which could be tournaments that have more than four teams.

The purpose of increasing the number of games for those sports was to give schools “flexibility for regular-season scheduling regarding invitational tournaments.”

Contest limits for the other sports would remain the same. Cross country, football, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and swimming would remain at 10 events, golf at 12, tennis at 16 and volleyball at 20 dual matches or 18 duals and one invitational or 16 duals and two invitationals.