Waikoloa, Hawaii » The future of regional state tournament formats is being discussed at the 55th annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference this week at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.
The Hawaii High School Athletic Association has used the regional state-tourney format in the recent past for volleyball, soccer and girls basketball, and there is a proposal on the HIADA agenda to go the regionals route for softball.
But the measure has an uphill climb.
In a preliminary committee straw-poll vote, it was voted down 18-13 with one abstaining.
It is likely to be brought to the floor again Wednesday, when the HIADA general assembly meets for a final vote on 29 proposals, most of them minor in nature in what, by all accounts from participants, is a slow year for Hawaii high school athletic legislation.
Regionals give neighbor island schools a chance to host the early rounds of the states.
“(In the committee meeting), during discussion, it was talked about how the regionals are successful,” Ka‘u athletic director D. Kalei Namohala said. “I would assume most would want to keep it. It was profitable. I think the Oahu schools don’t want to travel, so they might be against it, but we (on the neighbor islands) travel to state tournaments all the time.”
According to Namohala, the committee noted a few logistical problems with regionals during the recently completed school year, including confusion over which site (Kailua-Kona or Hilo) on the Big Island would be hosting, but she believes better planning will solve that problem.
It’s Hawaii Baptist athletic director Deren Oshiro’s personal opinion that the regionals format is a good concept, and he also acknowledged that many athletic directors have legitimate logistical concerns.
Namohala also said another plus for regionals is that it gives parents of athletes from the neighbor islands a chance to see their kids play in the states at home.
Ninety ADs will take part in the final vote — either in person or by proxy — on all proposals that make it as far as Wednesday’s general assembly.
Measures passed by HIADA must also be ratified by the HHSAA executive board — which is made up mainly of the league presidents — on Thursday at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. The HHSAA board also has the power to discuss and legislate on proposals shot down at HIADA.
THE REGIONAL COMPONENT of tournaments for sports like soccer and volleyball was conducted on a trial basis in recent years. Thus, the upcoming regional proposal for softball could have far-reaching impact. If it is voted down Wednesday, it could mean that the ADs are not interested in continuing regionals for any sport. As of right now, no future state tournaments in any sport are scheduled to have the regional format.
Meanwhile, a measure concerning the start date for football passed committee by a 27-3 vote with five abstaining.
Under current rules, the first official day of practice for the fall season is July 20, when teams can run conditioning drills. July 27 is the date teams can first put on pads.
Under the proposal atHIADA, conditioning would start July 13 and the first day in pads would be July 20.
Scrimmages, with full contact, against other teams can begin in late July, so many coaches want to give their players more time to adjust to the pads.
“It would give us as coaches a great chance to better prepare for the season,” Aiea football coach Wendell Say said. “We don’t want to rush kids into (the contact), for safety reasons.”
Without taking a stance either way, Ka‘u’s Namohala brought up one reason why the football proposal might not be a good idea.
“If they start practicing a week earlier, it’s possible they might start scrimmaging earlier, too, and that would (be counterproductive),” she said.
Another measure, calling for the change of state cheerleading classification from small and medium divisions (based on the number of athletes on a squad) to a Division I and Division II system (based on where the school is classified), was voted down in committee, but could still get resurrected Wednesday.
