Paddling, cheering get
state tournaments

The executive board of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association unanimously approved state championship events for paddling and cheerleading at its meeting yesterday morning at Radford High School.

The state canoe paddling championship regatta will be held March 1-2 at Keehi Lagoon. The cheerleading championship is scheduled for March 3 at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii.

The addition of paddling and cheerleading raises the number of HHSAA sanctioned state tournaments to 20.

At least three of the state's five leagues must hold championships in a sport for a state tournament to be held. And HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya expects adequate participation in both sports.

"The three-league requirement should not be a problem," he said.

Recommendations to award state championships in paddling and cheerleading were passed at the Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association meeting last summer. Those recommendations were then forwarded to the HHSAA executive board for final approval.

The state paddling championship will follow the regatta format used by the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Titles will be awarded in boys, girls and mixed (three boys, three girls) competition. Twenty-four crews in each category will contend for the championships.

Participation will be determined by the HHSAA's league representation formula.

For cheerleading, each league will be allowed to enter half of its squads in the state championship event.