Looking to stem the rise of student-athletes staying with host families, especially in ice hockey, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has codified its rules pertaining to that specific situation, saying that students who are not housed by legal guardians are not eligible for athletic competition.

The rule was always applied practically to any situation that might rise to the NJSIAA’s attention, but it is now an official policy on the organization's books.

“We have never put it in writing and now we are just formalizing it,” NJSIAA chief compliance officer Paul Popadiuk said in a phone call on Oct. 20. “That’s how we have handled it in the past when it has been reported to us.”

The new bylaw, passed at the Oct. 15 Executive Committee meeting , states that in orde

See Full Page