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The NCHSAA Board of Directors voted Wednesday to shorten the football season to 11 weeks from its current 12, retaining an optional endowment game that would be dropped for seeding purposes starting with the 2011-2012 academic year.

Also approved at the association’s annual meeting, which concluded Wednesday:

* Adding the “pod” format to the football seeding process effective next school year, meaning schools would be grouped into four different sections (East, Mideast, Midwest, West) to help reduce some of the longest trips that occur under the current format.

* Allowing a school to opt out of the playoffs with a form signed by its athletics director, principal and superintendent before brackets are released.

* Reducing the length of the winter sport season by one week for competition, but still starting winter sports practice on November 1.

* Making the wrestling state championships a three-day event, with one specific classification to wrestle on Thursday night.

* Using six-man crews at all 2010 state football championship games as a pilot program.

* Holding the state high school cross country championships at Kernersville’s Beeson Park through 2013.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com