Page 40 - 2021-22 By-Laws

Rule 5 - Amateurism and Assumed Name Prohibition

the definition of amateurism by other organizations. (rule 5-1)
Students Sharing in Gate Receipts
Q. 5-6 Are member School students permitted to participate and split the gate receipts
among the players including the high School students?
A. No, this would be considered a violation of amateurism. (rule 5-2)
Students Working
Q. 5-7 Do students who receive money for services such as a lifeguard, caddie, camp
or clinic counselor, tennis or swimming instructor, summer recreation supervisor
or official, jeopardize their eligibility in high school?
A. No, provided they merely receive reasonable and legitimate wages for services
actually rendered. (rule 5-3)
Student Expense Reimbursement
Q. 5-8 Does acceptance of reimbursement for expenses for a non-School competition
constitute a violation of the Amateurism Rule, rule 5?
A. No, under rule 5-3, and provided the reimbursement can be documented,
is reasonable and does not exceed actual out-of-pocket expenses, such
reimbursement does not violate the Amateurism Rule.
Q. 5-9 What constitutes acceptable documentation for expense reimbursement?
A. Acceptable documentation for expense reimbursement is an itemized bill which
has been properly receipted by the person or entity receiving the payment(s).
Q. 5-10 Can a student who plans to attend a showcase be sponsored by a third party,
such as the student’s father’s company, which would pay for all the cost and fees
of the showcase?
A. Yes. A third party may ‘sponsor’ a student’s participation in a non-School event,
such as a Camp or a Clinic, a non-School team competition or a showcase, and
may pay the student’s reasonable meals, lodging, and transportation. However,
such a sponsor cannot pay the actual “fee” for participation in the event and, of
course, cannot pay anything to or on behalf of a student for the student’s athletic
participation or performance. The Participation Rule, rule 15, has one exception,
and that is where a fee for a Camp or Clinic can be waived or paid by a third party
for an Underprivileged Student (See, Definitions).
Keeping Player Equipment and Uniforms
Q. 5-11 Does a student always violate the Amateurism Rule, rule 5-2, when the student
athlete fails to return player equipment or a player’s uniforms following the
conclusion of the student’s participation on a School Team or a Non-School Team?
A. No. A student’s failure to return equipment or a uniform to a School Team or to
a Non-School Team violates the Amateurism Rule only when the student has
not paid a reasonable fee to participate on the Team. When a student pays a
participation fee to a Team, it is presumed that all or a share of the fee is going
to the cost of outfitting the student athlete with equipment and uniforms, and
therefore, when the student athlete leaves the Team, the student should be able
to keep that equipment and those uniforms which the student athlete originally
help pay for, and should not be found in violation the Amateurism Rule. However,
a student athlete violates the Amateurism Rule, rule 5-2, when the original cost
of the equipment and uniforms which the student athlete keeps exceeds Two
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00).
College Letter of Intent
Q. 5-12 Do students violate their amateur status when they sign a college enrollment
“Letter of Intent”?
A. No, however acceptance of other material things might violate their amateur
status. (rule 5-2)
Amateurism Unique to Sport
Q. 5-13 If a student’s non-School participation in an IHSAA Recognized Sport (i.e.
swimming) would result in a technical violation of the Amateurism Rule, rule 5,
but the student does not participate that sport (swimming) at his/her School, would
the student’s eligibility in other sports (i.e. track) be impacted by the violation?
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