WIAA Football Rules

The Shell Lake School District and the Shell Lake Football Program follow WIAA rules. In order to foster better communication with parents and athletes, the following highlights of these rules are provided.

Preseason and Out-Of-Season

-Organizational meetings may be conducted outside the season provided no instruction or practice is included and the meeting(s) has been approved by school administration.

-Issuing of equipment and fitness assessment may take place on the day prior to the earliest day for practice (August 10). Fitness testing is limited to the bench press, squat, dead lift and power cleans, shuttle run, endurance run, dash and vertical jump. No football implements/equipment may be used for testing.

-Students may voluntarily assemble at any time without school and/or school coach involvement.

-So long as participation is voluntary and available to all interested students, members of a school’s team may voluntarily assemble with their teammates and coaches for purposes of instruction and/or competition for up to 5 days (do not need to be consecutive) without restriction.

Length of Season

-With WIAA approval, a school not in the playoffs may play a game during the first week of the playoffs.

Minimum Days of Practice

Acclimatization Period

(1) Practice Days 1 and 2

(a) Helmets and mouth guards only; shorts are recommended.

(b) Wrestling or volleyball style kneepads may be allowed, but are not mandatory.

(2) Practice Days 3 Through 5

(a) Helmets, mouth guards and shoulder pads only; shorts are recommended.

(b) Wrestling or volleyball style kneepads may be allowed, but are not mandatory.

clothing) are not permitted.

(3) Full pads may be worn after the acclimatization plan has been satisfied.

(4) The acclimatization period must be satisfied by all athletes individually.

If multiple practices in a day are utilized (long day), they may not be scheduled on consecutive days. Practices are limited to alternating Short Days and Long Days.

(1) Short Day

(a) Maximum practice is 3 hours of physical activity plus a 30-minute recovery period.

(b) A 30-minute recovery period (rest in a cool environment, pads and helmets off, hydrate) must occur no later than 2 hours into practice.

encouraged.

(2) Long Day

(a) Maximum of one practice is 3 hours of physical activity plus a 30-minute recovery period.

(b) A 30-minute recovery period (rest in a cool environment, pads and helmets off, hydrate) must occur no later than 2 hours into practice.

(c) Minimum of a 3-hour break without physical exertion, in a cool environment, with rehydration before the second practice that day.

(d) The longer practice, which is limited to 3 hours of physical activity plus a 30-minute recovery period, may be at any time during the day. When combined with an additional helmet-only practice, there must be a 3-hour break between.

(e) Maximum additional practice is 1.5 hours with helmets and mouth guards only; knee pads may be allowed.

(f) Unrestricted and unlimited access to water throughout physical activity is strongly encouraged.

(3) After 10 practices to the end of the season

(a) Only one practice allowed per day.

(b) Maximum practice is 2.5 hours.

(d) Monitor weather and heat conditions and adjust appropriately.

(e) Unlimited access to water and hydration should be available.

Player on Player Contact

Limitations are the following:

-Drill Contact (Air, Bags and Wrap) is unlimited. Competition/Full Contact (Thud and Live/Full) has limitations. The Acclimatization Regulations also apply.

Week 1 - Only Drill Contact (Air, Bags and Wrap) is allowed and it is unlimited. Competition/Full Contact is not allowed.

Week 2 - Drill Contact (Air, Bags and Wrap) is unlimited. Competition/Full Contact (Thud and Live) is limited to 75 minutes per week (excluding a scrimmage).

Week 3 and beyond - Drill Contact (Air, Bags and Wrap) is unlimited. Competition/Full Contact (Thud and Live) is limited to 60 minutes per week (excluding games).

-There must be practices on a minimum of 14 different days before the first game may be played.

-The minimum days of practice prior to the first competition is a team requirement. While it is desirable for each participant to satisfy this requirement, schools will determine when students may begin competition, after their 5 days of acclimatization.

-Teams must rest from all physical activity for at least one calendar day after six consecutive days of practice or competition.

Scrimmages

-In order for a team to participate in a scrimmage, eight different days of practice must have elapsed.

Individual Participation Limitations

-It is strongly recommended that a student participate at only one level (varsity or nonvarsity) in the same calendar week.

-Under unusual circumstances, as determined by school administration, a student may be a member of two different level teams in the same calendar week. In such cases, it is the responsibility of a coach to be particularly concerned about overexposing students to the point of adversely affecting their health and safety.

Flagrant or Unsportsmanlike Conduct

-A student, disqualified from a contest for flagrant or unsportsmanlike conduct, is suspended from interscholastic competition for no less than the next competitive event (but not less than one complete game or meet).

Concussion and/or Unconscious Participant

-No athlete shall return to play or practice on the same day of being diagnosed with a concussion or rendered unconscious. Any athlete suspected of having a concussion must be evaluated by an appropriate health-care professional that day. Any athlete with a concussion must be medically cleared by an appropriate health-care professional prior to resuming participation in any practice or competition. Return to play must follow a step-wise protocol which includes provisions for delaying return to play based upon the return of any signs or symptoms.