timeseditior@tds.net
A poster used to promote a wrestling camp earlier this summer has unfortunately has resulted in all Fennimore School District high school athletic teams placed on probation for one year per the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).
The poster in question was used to advertise on social media a wrestling camp held by the Fennimore Wrestling Association (FWA) his summer.
In addition to camp information, the poster also included a photograph of a current Fennimore student athlete.
According to a letter released by the school on Thursday, Aug. 17, by District Administrator Jane Wonderling, Boone Tollefson, Middle/High School Principal, and Athletic Director Jim Prochaska the district was informed by the WIAA of the poster posted by the FWA violated “the WIAA’s rules of amateur status, which prohibits students from being identified as athletes, providing endorsements as athletes, or appearing as athletes, in the promotion of a commercial advertisement and/or profit-making event, item, plan or service.”
Once informed by the WIAA, the district notified the FWA, who according to FWA President Corey Neuroth, “were unaware this was a violation of WIAA rules,” who promptly removed from social media.
Despite the district’s immediate response, the WIAA placed all Fennimore athletic teams on a one-year probation.
The Fennimore Community School District appealed the decision to he WIAA Board of Control at a hearing held on Friday, Aug. 11 on “The grounds that (1) Fennimore should not be singled out and penalized for a rule that is plagued with confusion, for which no regular and clear guidance is provided and which is misunderstood by Districts across the state; and (2) the punishment – probation of one year for the whole school, for every athlete - does not fit the single rule violation. ”
The WIAA Board of Control upheld the ruling, and the high school’s probation will continue through June 2024.
The ruling does not effect any student eligibility to participate in athletics, as well as the school’s athletic teams participation in regular season games or postseason tournaments.
The letter released by the school goes on to state, “Please be assured that District administration has worked closely in partnership with WIAA and we wish this hadn’t been the outcome of the appeal. However, we will continue our close partnership and will work to educate our school community on WIAA rules to ensure that our student athletes have every opportunity to excel in their chosen sports. To that end, all community members should be aware that using pictures of Fennimore athletes in advertisements or in promotions of non-school events violates WIAA’s rules and may result in further consequences for the district.”
