I'm very surprised I haven't seen anyone else post this, but I'm also surprised to see what ELSE they announced.

Here's the press release:

April 27, 2004

Board Adds Competitive Cheerleading, Journalism State Series

BLOOMINGTON - The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors approved new state series in Competitive Cheerleading and Journalism beginning in the 2005-06 school term, approved the classification enrollment cutoffs for the upcoming (2004-05) school term, and approved hiring another assistant executive director to begin August 1 at a busy regular meeting Tuesday (April 27) in the IHSA Office.

The Board will add state series in Competitive Cheerleading and Journalism if the number of member schools participating in them meets the 10 per cent participation standard. Currently, there are 761 member schools. In order for a state series to be implemented, at least 76 schools must be competing during the school term.

Competitive Cheerleading is expected to be an athletic state series in which a significant number of IHSA member schools will enter. The Competitive Cheerleading sport season begins on Wednesday of Week No. 18 and concludes on Saturday of Week No. 39 in the Standardized Calendar. In school term 2005-06, the season will begin on Nov. 2 and the state final must be conducted prior to April 1. Earlier this year, the Board approved creation of a Competitive Cheerleading Advisory Committee. It will be named later this school term.

There is no season for high school competition in Journalism. The News Media Advisory Committee already exists and recommended that the Board adopt a state series. The committee developed Terms and Conditions for its proposed state series that had competition concluding the first Saturday in May.

No surprise though, the debate is already raging. I saw just doing a google search on IHSA that the San Jose Mercury News is running the story from the Chicago Tribune of one of their (the CT's) columnists coming out publicly against Cheerleading as a sport.....
He doesn't say anything about journalism though....

I can see the headlines now, State journalism returning champion out of this years finials due to writers cramps.

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