So who is the candidate? This is where the debate lies.

In a section of the MIAA handbook since at least 2003, Rule 40.7.3, which defines who a candidate is, reads in part: “A varsity or sub-collegiate athlete who participated in a high school program at the interscholastic level in the past year and remains eligible . . .”

“What is the definition of a ‘high school program’? Is this any school or just your own school? MIAA assistant director Phil Napolitano posed for the board.

Defining the “high school program” as any school in the state would have a chilling effect on coaches, many of whom coach club or AAU teams in the offseason.

“If I become the baseball coach at Archbishop Williams then I can’t participate in a clinic or an AAU program in that area because every kid in that area is a prospect,” Pembroke principal Marc Talbot said.

After a lengthy discussion, the board voted 20-0 with one abstention to change the term ‘high school program’ to ‘a high school program they coach’ for greater clarity. Although the wording change was merely a suggestion and would need to be approved after review by MIAA attorneys, the board agreed to move forward by interpreting the existing rule to apply only to coaches’ home schools.

“I think it’s in all of our best interests for this candidate to be your student, and we’re relying on the recruiting rules for any shenanigans that may come up,” Hingham athletic director Jim Quatromoni said. “It’s not in our interest to have a lack of coaches to help them make those decisions. And the vast majority of us were already operating that way.”

Several athletic directors stated that the rule would be impossible to monitor if applied to high school athletes at any school.

“We did some research in Region 6 and we think there are thousands of coaches who are violating this particular rule as it is expressed today,” said Arlington Catholic AD Dan Shine. “We have a winter season starting in a month and there are a lot of people panicking about it.”

But that exact phrase has been in use since at least 2003, and went through rule updates in 2005 and 2009 that put middle school students on the cusp of going to high school.

“I think the whole point of the rule is that the candidate has to be someone in your own building,” said Tom Arria, MIAA vice president and AD of Cambridge Rindge & Latin. “He was someone in your own building, on your list. It was put in place to avoid putting pressure on kids to participate in the offseason.

MIAA executive director Bob Baldwin announced there will be a 7 percent increase in salaries for all game officials starting in the 2025-26 school year. Additionally, hockey officials’ salaries will be equal to football officials’ salaries. Hockey officials will be paid $97 per game this season, with an increase of about $113 per game next winter, according to the National Ice Hockey Officials Association.

“We’re doing everything we can to support our officials and get them where they need to be,” Baldwin said, noting that individual conferences may pay more than the MIAA’s recommended rate. “We need to be competitive with the wages paid at the AAU and youth level.”

In a letter to One NIHOA members, committee member Mike Ober praised MIAA leadership for doing “the right thing.” “After two years of effort, we have finally found a definitive path forward.”

Finance committee chairman Arria announced increases in dues each school will pay to MIAA. These are planned to increase by 6 percent in 2025-26, 5 percent in 2026-27, 4 percent in 2027-28 and 3 percent in 2029-30 and 2030-31. “The reality of the situation is unfortunately costs are increasing everywhere,” Arria said. “No matter what, sports equipment, buses, civil servants, dues. “It is like that.”

Brendan Kurie can be reached at [email protected].