MIAA sets standards for future tourneys
Sectionals set aside in favor of statewide tournament
The MIAA Field Hockey Committee meeting Tuesday served as a primer for future tournaments.
The committee spent more than an hour going over details of what the 2021 postseason will look like. With the MIAA eschewing sectional tournaments in favor of a statewide championship, the new format calls for the top 32 teams in each division along with schools who finish over .500 will qualify for the tournament.
The field will be seeded by a newly minted power rating system. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker criteria are as follows: head to head, winning percentage against common opponents, league champion and if those three solve the tie, then the fourth
criteria would come down to a coin flip.
There was also a discussion over who would officiate state fi
nals. While some would prefer officials who haven’t seen the teams during the tournament, longtime MIAA tournament director Annette DiMascio thinks it might be too restrictive. Former Rockport athletic director and current field hockey coach Mary Ryan felt with a new tournament format in place, it might be best to play it out under the old system and make adjustments if needed.
Higher seeds would host all tournament games leading up to the final four provided their home venue is acceptable by MIAA standards (field conditions, seating capability, acceptance lights, etc.). If not, then the home athletic director would have to find a suitable facility otherwise the lower seed would host the game. The MIAA will provide the sites for the state semifinals and finals.
The committee paid homage to longtime members Patricia Provost and David Uminski, who are stepping down from their positions. Provost is the athletic director and field hockey coach at Notre Dame ( Worcester), who recently surpassed the 600-win milestone; Uminski is the principal at Oakmont Regional..