HHSAA passes regional-tournament proposal

The deal is done.

The opening rounds of the girls basketball and boys volleyball Division I state tournaments are expanding to the neighbor islands.

The executive board of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association passed a proposal — initiated by its executive director, Chris Chun — that will permit neighbor island champions to host the opening and quarterfinal rounds. The games will be played on the first weekend of the tourney, Friday and Saturday, with the host team — league champions from the MIL, BIIF, ILH and OIA — getting a first-round bye before playing on Saturday.

The proposal was the last of many on the table at Monday’s HHSAA board meeting in the office of the OIA on the Radford High School campus. The HHSAA met just 24 hours after the completion of the annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference, where proposals were passed and recommended.

“I’m just glad the leagues uniformly supported it,” Chun said of the unanimous vote (100-0). “We’ll work hard on implementing these two sports next year.”

An ad hoc committee comprised of athletic directors from different leagues will monitor the process. It will be a one-year pilot program that could possibly expand to a similar format for all 12-team tournaments.

“That depends. It could be a year away or several years away,” Chun said. “But girls basketball and boys volleyball are set up to be successful.”

The format includes a “final four” scenario, with the semifinals and final on Oahu.

Former Kamehameha administrator Blane Gaison, now the AD at Kamehameha-Maui, was pleased.

“It’s great. It’s going to generate a lot more interest and give people a chance to see the tournament, kind of like the NCAA’s Sweet 16 with a playoff game at home before the final four,” he said. “The numbers also look good. That was one of our concerns before, so this is going to fit well.”

Crowds for opening-round and quarterfinal-round games on Oahu typically draw 200 to 400 or so fans. But the same scenario at Konawaena and Lahainaluna — where the girls basketball programs are in dynasty mode — could pull in full-house crowds of up to 4,000.

Details will continue to be the focus of the ad hoc committee and Chun. But they’ve already ironed out some of the questions. One was about opening-round matchups between ILH and OIA teams. Those games will be played on Oahu, saving teams the cost of travel.

Teams that wind up traveling on both weekends could receive some help, Chun said recently, with subsidies.

Another change of venue is coming for the D-II state baseball tournament. The board passed a proposal that will permit the BIIF to become part of the hosting rotation. The measure was amended on Monday to include the KIF in the rotation. Every third year, either the BIIF or KIF will host, giving each league the duties once every six years. The MIL will host the D-I state baseball tourney those same years.

The proposal was approved with votes from the KIF, ILH, MIL and BIIF for a total of 69 votes. The OIA, with its 31 votes, abstained.

A proposal to adjust the scoring format in cross country was defeated 56-44. At HIADA, the proposal had passed with a 46-38 count.

In another odd twist, a cheerleading proposal to expand the maximum of participants for a “medium division” squad from 10 to 11 was rejected unanimously. At HIADA, the vote had been 68-16 in favor with two abstentions.

Representatives from the MIL motioned to add their league to the D-I state soccer tourney hosting rotation, but that was defeated 56-38. Chun noted that there would be a steep decline in revenue if soccer moved off Oahu.

Other proposal voting results

Wrestling — The board agreed to adopt national federation weight classes of 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285. That means there will be one fewer weight class in the highly competitive range of 120 to 140.

Bowling — Disqualifications will no longer carry over to the next school year’s state tournament, passed unanimously.

Soccer — The boys and girls tournaments will move back one week later despite concerns about facility overcrowding due to the HYSA state tournament at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.

Judo — Sudden-death overtime will be used, and a change regarding blocking technique was passed. This passed 94-0 with six abstentions; the KIF does not have judo.

Voting numbers by league, one vote per school: OIA — 31; BIIF — 26; ILH — 25, MIL — 12; KIF — 6.

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See more voting result details at hawaiiprepworld.com.