[ CHEERLEADING ]
Kalani seeks
return to varsity
Parents of Kalani High School's cheerleading squad are upset because the unit has been downgraded from a sanctioned varsity sport to club status.
But athletic director Gordon Miyashiro said Thursday that he had no choice but to make that decision.
"In July, we put out a notice in both newspapers that we were looking for a varsity coach and we didn't get any response," Miyashiro said.
Without a sanctioned varsity coach, the sport can't run at the varsity level for the competition season, which runs from November to February.
As a club sport, the cheerleaders are directed by volunteers instead of a paid employee as coach. In addition, club sports teams aren't allowed to compete in league and state events.
Miyashiro said he's all for changing cheerleading back to a varsity sport if someone qualified applies for the job soon.
"We're looking for someone with vision," Miyashiro said, "a role model who can build a team with a five-year plan in mind."
Former head coach Pauline Kahilioumi stepped down after last season for personal reasons.
Kalani is the only club team in the Oahu Interscholastic Association.
"The parents of the ... cheerleaders are upset and disappointed with this decision," Janice Canepa, the parent of a Falcons cheerleader, wrote in an e-mail to the Star-Bulletin. "We are still working on correcting this situation."
Canepa said Thursday that she and other parents have communicated with Miyashiro, Kalani principal Randiann Porras-Tang and vice principals Marcus Dacanay and Larry Kaliloa, as well as other Department of Education personnel, about trying to find a coach so the Falcons can return to varsity status.
A meeting of parents and school personnel is being planned for next week.
"Hopefully we'll find a qualified coach," Canepa said. "And, in talking with a coach at another school, I've found that sometimes an interim coach can be hired until they find the long-term coach they're looking for so the girls aren't left out in the cold."
