Classification
passes first test
at HIADAThe issue will be voted on by
the general assembly tomorrow
KAANAPALI, Maui >> State high school football classification took a step closer to becoming reality yesterday.
A proposal to create two divisions for the state tournament passed through committee by a 15-14 vote at the 43rd annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference at the Sheraton Maui Resort.
"This is a positive first step," Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya said. "Hopefully all five leagues will realize there's no real downside to trying it for one year."
The measure moves on to the full HIADA general assembly for another vote tomorrow. If it passes, it still needs final approval later this month by the HHSAA executive board.
In the past few years, similar proposals for high school football classification failed to get a majority vote in committee and were rejected by HIADA.
Amemiya, who played a big role in the creation of the one division state football tournament in 1999, didn't want to speculate on whether the plan will pass tomorrow.
"I don't want to jinx it," he said.
As part of the proposal, Amemiya would cover any financial losses caused by a second football division. To help ensure gender equity, he would donate $20,000 of his and his wife Bonny's money as part of a $40,000 overall donation by the HHSAA to pay for hotel and travel costs for teams going to the softball and girls basketball tournaments.
The same committee, which was chaired by Waiakea High School AD Ken Yamase, also passed a proposal to classify one or two girls state tournaments to further allay gender equity concerns. A handful of sports were discussed, including softball, volleyball and basketball, but no consensus was reached.
Several committee members think the football measure has a better chance if a girls sport is also classified.
"I believe it will be close (Friday's football vote)," Castle athletic director Richard Haru said. "It may pass. Judging by the way it was voted on today, I think it will go."
Leilehua athletic director Richard Townsend thinks the general assembly will vote for it now that there's a girls proposal. But he thinks there are questions that need to be answered before the vote, such as how the revenue from the new tournament will be split between the leagues as well as how teams are chosen to represent their leagues at the state tournament.
The football proposal, which was submitted by the HHSAA, has a formula for how teams are selected, but Amemiya said it's not set in stone and could be changed. He also said the revenue sharing can be whatever the HIADA voters want.
Damien athletic director Herb Lloyd fully supports the football measure and thinks it will pass if it can get enough support from the outer islands.
An alternative football proposal, calling for a four division state tournament (separating public and private schools into two divisions each) failed to make it out of committee by a 25-1 vote with one abstaining.
Despite the rejection, Waimea's Jim Kitamura, who submitted the plan, told the committee that the private schools have an unfair advantage over public schools because they recruit. He suggested that HIADA look into penalizing teams that recruit.
Lloyd said Damien would recruit if it had the money to do so, and he acknowledged that other private schools recruit. But he added that the practice would be nearly impossible to police.
Yamase admitted that it is frustrating for the public schools to have brilliant athletes in the ninth grade leave to go to a private school for 10th grade.
Another proposal to make two-tiered state tournaments for boys and girls in basketball and volleyball did not make it out of committee.
In other classification news at HIADA, a proposal to hold a one division state cheerleading tournament passed by a 17-9 vote and another proposal for a two division cheerleading tourney was rejected. Several HIADA members said the two division cheerleading tournament earlier this year was created by tournament organizers and never given the OK by HIADA.
The following items passed out of committee and on to the HIADA general assembly:
>> A proposal to create a girls water polo state tournament.>> A plan to place high school football officials under one umbrella under the jurisdiction of the HHSAA, with the stipulation that the HHSAA would pay for training and that the leagues would still be able to make their own game assignments.
>> A proposal for rally scoring and allowing a let serve in volleyball.
The following items were rejected at the committee level:
>> Plans for all future judo and air riflery tournaments be moved to Oahu. This may make it to the full general assembly due to a procedural move called a minority vote.
The following are among the measures to be discussed today:
>> A plan to allow combination teams (such as Pac-Five) to play in state tournaments.
>> A plan to add a shot clock in basketball.