Thursday, April 19, 2001
[ TEACHER STRIKE ]
5 state tourneys THE SHOWS WILL GO ON. At least that's the plan formulated by the Hawaii High School Athletic Executive Board at a meeting yesterday morning.
pushed back
Officials hope the teachers
strike can be settled
within 10 daysBy Cindy Luis
Star-BulletinIn a unanimous vote of its members, the board voted to push five of the six high school state spring tournaments back a week in hopes that the Hawaii State Teachers Association strike will be settled within the next 10 days. The sixth, the David Ishii Foundation Boys Golf Tournament, remains scheduled for May 10-11 at Kapalua Bay Golf Course on Maui.
"It's better to be proactive than reactive,'' said Keith Amemiya, the executive director of the HHSAA. "We have no 'drop dead' date for the tournaments, but if the strike lasts much beyond April 30, we'll have to seriously look at canceling some or all of the tournaments. If it comes to that, we will evaluate on a case-by-case basis.''
At risk are state tournaments in golf, tennis, track and field, baseball and girls' basketball.
At least one problem remains: a site for the girls' basketball tournament. The event was to be held at the University of Hawaii's Stan Sheriff Center but may have to be played at an alternate site due to a possible scheduling conflict.
The Maui Interscholastic League has already canceled its regular-season and will use a tournament format to decide its state berths. Officials of the other public school leagues are discussing their options.
The concern in trying to get the league schedule played out is the amount of class time athletes would miss for afternoon games.
"If teachers are not willing to let the athletes go, we have a problem,'' said Keith Morioka, Waipahu High athletic director and state baseball coordinator.
Coaches have said they would need about a week of practice before their athletes would be game-ready.
The new dates are:
>> Girls' golf, May 15-16, The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course, Maui. Originally scheduled for May 3-4.
>> Tennis, May 17-19, Kiahuna and Poipu Kai Tennis Clubs, Kauai. Originally May 10-12.
>> Track and field, May 18-19, War Memorial Stadium, Maui. Originally May 10-12.
>> Girls' basketball, May 22-25, site to be determined. Originally May 15-18, at the Sheriff Center.
>> Baseball, May 22-25, Aloha Stadium. Originally May 16-19.
>> HSTA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site
