Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Monday
Evening QB
IT seems we must always have a sports facility to pick on around here: Aloha Stadium, Klum Gym, Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium . . . well, add Blaisdell Arena to the list. Is Blaisdell safe
enough for preps?An exit door fell of its hinges there Friday. At the time of the incident -- in which, through pure luck, no one was injured -- the high school state wrestling championships were going on at the 36-year-old facility.
The previous Friday, I was at the Blaisdell for the Oahu Interscholastic Association boys' basketball championship game.
I noticed how rickety and dilapidated the facility had become over the years.
We're not talking about the generally rustic appearance of the place; that doesn't really matter, and I kind of like old-looking sports venues -- as long as chunks of them aren't about to fall on me.
We're talking safety.
Not just doors are loose enough to fall. Sections of seats seem ready to go at anytime. Railings are so loose that they have warning signs attached.
Apparently, except for the falling door on Friday, the wrestling championships went off without a hitch.
But what about next time?
Hawaii High School Athletic Association director Keith Amemiya said he has had no previous problems with holding events at the Blaisdell Arena, but acknowledges that safety -- of athletes, officials and spectators -- is the HHSAA's primary concern.
In recent years, the HHSAA has held some of its events, like last week's boys' state basketball tournament, at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Stanley is better than Blaisdell; it has a modern look and the University of Hawaii teams play there. And it's safer, too.
"We lucked out this year and last," Amemiya said. "All three teams (UH men's and women's basketball and men's volleyball) didn't need the facility the week we wanted to hold the tournament.
"We can't anticipate that kind of luck, and hopefully we can work something out with UH so we can keep holding events there."
A possibility is to hold the boys' tournament when both UH basketball teams are at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. A bonus is that the state basketball final and wrestling prelims would not be on the same day, as they were Friday.
The HHSAA needs to work out a deal with UH that benefits both -- and if the state must hold more high school events at Blaisdell, some long overdue renovations should be completed first.
BRIAN Viloria is home in Waipahu, but not for long. He arrived yesterday afternoon, but heads back to Colorado Springs on Wednesday.
Such is life when you are a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team -- and you haven't yet qualified for the Games in Sydney, Australia.
Celebrations and breaks are short; he's still got some work to do.
Viloria, the world amateur champion at 106 pounds, earned his spot on the U.S. team by winning a box-off Thursday night.
But being best in the nation doesn't mean a free ride to the Olympics anymore. Viloria and his teammates must qualify at one of three tournaments called the Americas Qualifiers.
His first chance is March 27-April 1 in Tampa, Fla. If he makes it to the finals there, he's in the Games.
"Last time there were too many boxers. So now they're making it harder," Viloria said. "I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid. Now it's clearly in my sight."
Dave Reardon, who covered sports in Hawaii from 1977 to 1998,
moved to the the Gainesville Sun, then returned to
the Star-Bulletin in Jan. 2000.
E-mail dreardon@starbulletin.com
