Training in CPR has been mandated for all coaches in the Alabama High School Athletic Association, according to action by the AHSAA Central Board of Control at its annual summer meeting in Montgomery.

By 2005, all coaches (certified teachers) must carry a current CPR card in order to work in the AHSAA program. This requirement, passed unanimously, brings the AHSAA to a new level of sports safety nationwide since there are only nine other states that require CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) certification for all coaches.

In conjunction with the National Center for Sports Safety (NCSS) headquartered in Birmingham, the AHSAA will be providing this training for over 7,000 coaches statewide. The NCSS has already provided the training for nearly 1,000 coaches in the state since its inception last year and has a network of nearly 90 instructors through HEALTHSOUTH facilities in Alabama.

This network, among other groups affiliated with the NCSS, will work with the AHSAA to arrange for all coaches to obtain their CPR certification, according to April Morin, NCSS Executive Director who presented the proposal.

"We always emphasize safety in our athletic program, so adding this requirement for all our coaches will enable them not only to provide emergency care for their own players but also for the entire community where they live," said Dan Washburn, AHSAA Executive Director.

This training will be an additional requirement to those initiated a year ago for new and first-time coaches under the Coaches Education Program, which includes completing Coaches Principles and Sports First Aid courses and attending an AHSAA coaches rules clinic.

The Board also endorsed a Crisis Response Plan and recommended that member schools set up such a plan for their athletic venues and programs.

Other major action taken by the board:

-Endorsed the Oral Screen product for school systems that wish to do drug testing.

-Voted to discontinue the Alabama-Mississippi all-star basketball games pending further study of the games’ host and sponsors.

-Voted to study the feasibility of moving the Alabama-Mississippi and the North-South all-star football games to December because of the expected passage of the NCAA proposal allowing freshmen players on scholarship to report to campus in June.

-Approved the eligibility of a student transferring under the "No Child Left Behind" program if the criteria of the program and all other eligibility requirements are met.

-Approved the catastrophic insurance plan for member schools. The premiun for the $1 million coverage (with a $10,000 deductible) is $4 per high school student and $3 per junior high/middle school student.

-Voted to waive member school dues for the 2002-03 school year.

-Approved Brewbaker Technology School of Montgomery as member effective with the start of the 2002-03 school year.

-Endorsed the National Federation District 3 Showcase Basketball Camps next year in Tennessee and Georgia. Twenty girls and 20 boys (all 9th, 10th and 11th graders) will be selected from each of the states in the district.