WIAA Amateur Status
WADA Convention
November 8, 2010
Article IV - Amateur Status
 Section 1 - Loss of Eligibility
 A. A student shall be an amateur in all recognized
sports of this Association in order to compete in any
sport, and he/she shall become ineligible for all
further participation in the school's interscholastic
program for violation of any of the amateur status
provisions. The penalty may be reduced upon
request of a school on the basis of documented
extenuating circumstances, when accompanied by
evidence of complete restitution made by the athlete
(when applicable).
CASHFLOW--STUDENT FEES
Examples of non-compliance funding situations include
the following:
1.
Monetary funds provided to the school by outside
sources are not handled in accordance with school
district gift acceptance policies.
2.
Booster Clubs and/or Rink Associations directly
paying officials fees, travel expenses, uniforms, ice
time and/or coaches salaries.
3.
Booster Clubs and/or Rink Associations not
allowing student-athletes to try out or participate
on a school team because player fees or insurance
fees have not been paid.
4.
Booster Clubs and/or Rink Associations providing
financial assistance for student fees.
CASHFLOW--STUDENT FEES
1.
2.
3.
Additional non-compliance situations that violate WIAA Amateur
Status regulations that have been brought to our attention
during the past year include:
One school from a co-op program reducing the fees for students
from their school to participate in a sport, while the other
schools in the co-op program do not reduce their fees.
One school from a co-op program not providing monies raised
in a fundraiser for their school to the lead school of the co-op for
distribution amongst all schools/players participation fees in the
co-op program.
A student-athlete receiving a reduced student participation fee
equal to the amount the student raised during a fundraising
campaign.
Article IV - Amateur Status
 B. A student shall be determined to be in
violation if he/she:
 1) Accepts, receives and/or directs to another,
reimbursement or award in any form of (a)
salary, (b) cash, (c) merchandise of any kind or
amount or (d) share of game or season
proceeds, for achievement in athletics. a. Actual
and necessary reimbursement for transportation,
food, and lodging paid in connection with playing
a contest shall not be regarded as a violation.
Can a player receive a gift certificate for merchandise
and give it to someone else?
NO, student-athlete should simply not accept any gift
certificate for merchandise. In addition, WIAA Amateur
Status regulations indicate a student shall be determined to
be in violation if he/she “directs reimbursement of award in
any form of salary, cash, merchandise of any kind or amount
or share of game or season proceeds, for achievement in
athletics.
Is it allowable for a golf course to provide a free
membership for the year to student-athletes that
make the golf team?
Once again, due to the performance based nature of membership regulations,
this would be a violation of the WIAA’s Amateur Status regulation. If any
member of the golf team receives a free membership because they are a
member of the team, they would become ineligible for all further participation in
the school’s interscholastic program.
Can a foundation program provide funds to the school that will
pay for a golf membership for members of the golf team if we
do not cut anyone?
There are a couple of issues in this question that require responses on their
own. First, funds provided to schools and then paid to a golf club, clinics, or
other organization is an inappropriate process. Schools should work with the
organization providing the funds and have them directly pay the golf
club/organization benefiting from the fund.
The only way that members of a golf team can have their membership paid for
is if this membership opportunity is offered to the entire student population of
the school. School administrators should maintain copies of the
announcements made providing this information to all the school's students.
Can student-athletes purchase their own golf
shirts at discounted prices through a NIKE
purchase program if the purchase program is
open to all students?
The NIKE Golf Purchase Program specifically states "Only high school and Collegiate golf
coaches are eligible to place orders for themselves and their team. Purchasing for friends,
family, co-workers or others is strictly prohibited! Items available through this program are not
for resale."
School officials should contact NIKE to obtain permission to sell apparel and equipment items
to all students. If permission is received, school officials should document announcements
informing the student body of the availability of this program .
Q&A
 Q.: Can a club volleyball organization, not
associated with the school, give a scholarship
to a 9th grade student to pay her fees for the
club?
 Q.: We own a hockey pro shop and would like
to give a 10 percent discount to all high
school hockey players in the area. Example:
Player comes in to purchase a piece of
equipment and they say they are on the ABC
team, and we make sure they are on the
roster that we received from their coach and
then we give them the 10 percent. Is this okay
to do?
Article IV - Amateur Status
 b. A student may receive an award which is symbolic
(nonmerchandise) in nature such as badges, certificates,
cups, trophies, medals, banners, ribbons, pictures, event
T-shirts, event hats, game balls, unattached emblems,
letters, season highlight DVD or video, or other items of
no intrinsic/utilitarian value. A student may not receive
such merchandise items as shirts, jackets, sweaters,
sweatshirts, jerseys, warm-ups, equipment, balls, duffel
bags, backpacks, watches, rings, billfolds, coupons, gift
certificates, e.g., regardless of their value. (See Bylaws,
Article XI - Awards)
Q&A
 Q.: I have a question about accepting prize money from cycling
races I compete in over the summer. I was wondering if it would
be permissible that if I were to win any cash prize, that I could
accept only the amount of entry for the race?
 Q.: Question on awards for representatives for our school for
Wendys High School Heisman. The two representatives from
each high school receive a patch, a certificate, and a $10 gift
certificate to Wendys. I believe every school that has students fill
out the forms receives one boys winner and one girls winner.
Can the students accept the $10 gift certificate to Wendys?
Article IV, Section 1, B. 1.b reads that a student cannot receive
such merchandise items as coupons, gift certificates, e.g.,
regardless of their value. Just wondering if I am taking this too
literally.
Q&A
Q.: Our FBLA (school group) is offering
a 50/50 raffle which involves a
basketball toss at halftime. My question
is can a student athlete direct his/her
parent to accept any awards on their
behalf? My guess is no as this would
essentially be the same as the student
athlete accepting the cash award.
Article IV - Amateur Status
 c. A school may allow a student to retain items of
practice and playing uniforms which, for reasons of
hygiene, obsolescence, deterioration, etc., will not be
passed on to another student.
Article IV - Amateur Status
 2) Signs a contract or agreement for services as a
participating athlete. a. A student may be employed (but
not self-employed) on a part-time basis as an instructor
on the playgrounds, game official, lifeguard, e.g. b. This
rule shall not prevent a student from signing (a) an
agreement which binds him/her to play only for a
particular team or (b) an athletic tender with a university
or college.
Article IV - Amateur Status
 3) Receives compensation or benefit, directly or
indirectly, for the use of name, picture, and/or personal
appearance, as an athlete. This includes but is not
limited to: receiving free and/or reduced rates on
equipment, apparel, camps/clinics/instruction and
competitive opportunities that are not identical for all
other participants.
Article IV - Amateur Status
 4) Is identified as an athlete, provides endorsement as
an athlete, or appears as an athlete, in the promotion of
a commercial/advertisement and/or profit-making event,
item, plan or service.
Examples
Examples
Examples
Examples - Radio
Examples - Radio
Examples - Radio
Photographers
 WIAA athletes, and photographers, should adhere to these
guidelines, relative to individual pictures. WIAA rules allow
photographers to: 1. Display pictures of students in athletic wear
(letter jackets, jerseys, uni- forms, etc.) in their studio windows,
on premises of studio and in connection with other photographic
displays and exhibits. 2. Use pictures of students in athletic
wear (as indicated above) in advertising brochures, postal
cards, sample boards, collages, direct mailings, and similar
situations. 3. Use pictures of students in athletic wear in
advertising form in a publication (newspaper, magazine, etc.) or
for television advertising, or names of students identified as
athletes in radio advertising.
Photographers
 WIAA rules continue to prohibit athletes from:
1. Receiving the equivalent of cash or
merchandise in the form of discounts in cost
of pictures, waivers of sitting fees, free walletsize photos, and similar inducements, if
identified as an athlete or selected because
of being an athlete. 2. Providing an
endorsement, as an athlete, in any
promotional event.Athletes and
Photographers
Article IV - Amateur Status
Article IV - Amateur Status
 5) Plays in any contest (school or nonschool) under a
name other than his/her own name.
Related Rules - Bylaws (p. 29)
Article XI - Awards
Section 1 - School
A. A school shall not in recognition of school
athletic achievement (a) present to its
athletes or (b) permit presentation by others
to its athletes any award other than of a type
falling under the category of badges,
certificates, cups, trophies, medals, banners,
ribbons, pictures, season highlight DVD or
video, event T-shirts, event hats, game balls,
unattached emblems, letters, or other items of
no intrinsic value.
Related Rules - Bylaws (p. 29)
 Section 2 - Nonschool
 A. A banquet for a school team (or seniors,
lettermen, etc.), sponsored by other than the
school, shall not constitute a violation if
arranged with the approval of the school.
 B. Group entertainment, sponsored by other
than the school, is permissible only if such
entertainment is limited to transportation,
admission to event, and necessary food and
lodging, and it must be approved by the
school.
Q&A
Q.: Our volleyball team would like to go
see another team play as a team. Can
our coach pay for them to get into the
game? Can they use money they raised
though fund raisers? Or do they each
have to pay their own way into the
game?
Related Rules - Bylaws (p. 29)
Section 3 - General
A. Any award presented or permitted by the
school must be symbolic (no
intrinsic/utilitarian value) in nature. Examples
of awards which are not acceptable include
such items as: shirts, jackets, sweaters,
sweatshirts, jerseys, warm-ups, watches,
rings, billfolds, equipment, balls, duffel bags,
backpacks, coupons, gift certificates, e.g.,
regardless of the monetary value of the item.