Penalties

Penalties

a) Any student athlete, coach, or member school may be declared ineligible, subject to probation or suspension from Association competition for reported violations of sportsmanship, eligibility, or competition regulations.  Any student athlete, coach, member school, or Zone which is alleged to be in violation, must be given an opportunity to appeal before the Association’s Board of Directors.

b) The MHSAA may default school teams or Zones which do not meet deadline dates set for Zone and/or Interzone play downs.

c) If a Tournament Commitment Form has been received by a tournament convenor, the convenor may request the Association impose a penalty to a school that has not fulfilled invitational tournament commitments as sanctioned by the Association. This violation would be an automatic five hundred dollar ($500.00) fine, and the school would be placed on probation for at least one calendar year. The offending school may also be liable for tournament operating costs. Tournament convenor would be required to provide the Association a copy of a signed tournament commitment form before any action would take place.

d) Failure to register, sanction, or forward results of a tournament to the MHSAA by the required deadlines will result in an automatic two hundred ($200.00) dollar fine, and the school will be placed on probation for a minimum of one calendar year.

e) Zones/Schools failing to meet deadline dates for entries, roster submission, eligibility appeals, intent to participate, roster information for Provincial Championships, and online school information will be fined one hundred ($100.00) dollars.

f) Any student athlete caught consuming or in the possession of alcohol, tobacco, vaping, or illegal drugs at a Provincial Championship will result in the student athlete’s automatic disqualification, a two hundred ($200.00) fine, and consultation with the school’s administration on possible further disciplinary action.

g) The use of an ineligible student athlete will result in an automatic one thousand ($1,000.00) dollar fine, expulsion of the student athlete, and the school being placed under probation for a minimum of two calendar years. The matter will be reviewed by the MHSAA Executive Committee in consultation with all stakeholders. Additional penalties may result such as, automatic expulsion of team, forfeiture of all previous results, or other.

h) A team withdrawing from a Provincial Championship after the entry deadline has passed will result in an automatic five hundred dollar ($500.00) fine, and the school will be placed on probation for a minimum of one calendar year.

i) Teams identified with improper uniforms (including advertising regulation violations) may not be allowed to compete until they have adhered to all uniform rules and will automatically fined two hundred ($200.00) dollars.

j) Any student athlete or coach changing at the bench or field of play will automatically be fined two hundred ($200.00) dollars per violation.

k) School’s failing to meet expectations at special functions (media conferences, banquets, luncheons, opening ceremonies, etc.), and other Association events will result in an automatic two hundred ($200.00) dollar fine, and the school will be placed on probation for a minimum of one calendar year. Schools may also be responsible for covering expenses absorbed by the Provincial host in relation to the special function missed.

l) Improper conduct or a flagrant rule violation such as language, discrimination, abuse, and harassment will result in a fine of up to one thousand ($1,000.00), expulsion of the student athlete/coach, and the school being placed under probation for a minimum of two calendar years. The matter will be reviewed by the MHSAA in consultation with all stakeholders. Upon review, additional penalties may result such as: forfeiture of game result, automatic expulsion of team, indefinite suspension, etc. MHSAA may extend a suspension of an athlete/coach to other MHSAA Provincial Sport Championships and sanctioned activities when the discrimination, abuse, or harassment occurs towards other student athletes, coaches, officials, or spectators.

m) Failure to have a teacher supervisor present will result in a two hundred ($200.00) fine and may result in a default of competition results.

n) Teams not submitting all season results (exhibition, league, and tournament) on mhsaa.ca, or exceeding the 25-game limit will result in an automatic five hundred ($500.00) dollar fine, the school will be placed on probation for a minimum of one calendar year, and school may be deemed ineligible for the Provincial Championships.

o) Failure of the home school to submit league and exhibition results on mhsaa.ca by noon the following school day will result in a twenty-five ($25.00) dollar fine.

p) Zones failing to fulfill Provincial Championship hosting duties will be fined one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars in addition to the entire Zone being placed on probation for a minimum of two calendar years. If second hosting duty is not fulfilled by the Zone during the probationary period, each member school in the Zone will be considered a “member not in good standing” and as such, will not be eligible for any MHSAA sanctioned school sport activities, including Provincial Championships, for that school year.  The MHSAA Executive Committee will also review the matter and determine if any further sanctions are required. Once a Zone has completed their probationary period they would return to a Zone in “good standing”.

q) All AAA varsity volleyball and basketball schools inside the City of Winnipeg must play a minimum of four matches/games against AAA schools in areas outside of Winnipeg, two matches/games must be played outside city limits. Tournaments count as two matches/games. If the tournament is hosted by a AAA school, two matches/games will be awarded, regardless of the classification of participating teams. All matches/games must be completed prior to Zone playoffs. Failure to fulfill the requirement will result in the school receiving an automatic two thousand five hundred ($2,500.00) dollar fine, the school will be placed on probation for two calendar years and may result in the team being ineligible for the Provincial Championships.

Payment of Penalties
Any school not paying their fine(s) within 20 business days will be ineligible to participate in any MHSAA sanctioned school sport activities until the fine is paid. If the fine is still not paid after 30 business days, the school may be placed as ‘not in good standing’ with the Association.  An in-person hearing with the MHSAA Board of Directors would be required for consideration of reinstatement, in addition to a five hundred ($500.00) administration fee, and payment of any outstanding fines.

Probation
Being placed on probation means that if the school violates other MHSAA rules and/or regulations in the stated period, the probationary period could be extended, and additional sanctions applied. Repeated violations during the probationary period may result in the school being considered a “member not in good standing” and as such, will not be eligible for any MHSAA sanctioned school sport activities, including Provincial Championships, for the remainder of the probationary period.

Appeal Process

If a Zone or member school seeks to appeal their penalty to the MHSAA Board of Directors, the following procedure shall be followed:

1. The school administration shall submit, in writing, the grounds and reasons of the appeal.

2. Upon receipt of the application for appeal, the MHSAA shall notify the school in writing of the date, time, and place that the appeal hearing is to be heard. 

3. A two hundred ($200.00) dollar non-refundable bond must be submitted to the Association by the school prior to the appeal hearing.

4. At the hearing the school may make whatever submission, or call whatever witnesses they choose, and which the MHSAA Board of Directors shall permit in its sole and exclusive discretion.

5. The MHSAA Board of Directors shall render its decision, in writing, and in doing so shall briefly state the reason(s) for its decision. The decision of the MHSAA Board of Directors shall be final.