[ DIVISION II ATHLETICS ]
High schools add more
Division II sportsAfter three days of intense talk,
the state's athletic directors vote
to expand classification
SOUTH KOHALA, Hawaii » Division II is growing in Hawaii.
On the third and final day of intense discussion during its annual conference at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel yesterday, the Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association voted 44-34 in favor of adding D-II state tournaments in boys and girls volleyball and boys basketball for 2004-05.
"I'm extremely happy," St. Andrew's Priory athletic director Missy Kilbey said. "I'm for anything that favors small schools having a chance to play for a state championship. This opens up opportunities for more kids."
Kilbey has firsthand knowledge of what it means for small-school students to have a chance they never had before. The Pride played in Hawaii's first D-II girls basketball tournament last season and finished second.
"It had such a positive impact," she said. "It was quite a sight to look in those kids' eyes and watch them play at the Stan Sheriff Center and to see their excitement at not having to actually pay to get in the building."
The measure must also get a final stamp of approval from the Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive board, which meets June 24 on Oahu. If the HHSAA also approves it, Hawaii will have six classified sports -- football, softball, girls basketball, boys basketball, boys volleyball and girls volleyball.
Interestingly, the proposal made a comeback. It was defeated 16-12 in committee Thursday, but was directed back to the general assembly because the vote was so close.
Another proposal -- to phase in more D-II tournaments for various team sports over the next few years -- was taken off the agenda. Instead, HIADA members voted to move the issue to an HHSAA committee to evaluate the feasibility and formulate a timeline as to when more D-II tournaments will be added.
"We were very surprised (about the vote to add the volleyball and boys basketball D-II tournaments)," said Kahuku AD Joe Whitford, one of several Oahu Interscholastic Association ADs who said they wanted the determination on these two sports to go to an HHSAA committee first. "That vote was driven by the smaller schools. It costs money to run tournaments and fly people in. There are a lot of questions about how it will be paid for and that should be looked at."
Kapolei AD Elden Esmeralda also wanted to wait before HIADA acted on adding any new D-II sports.
"We just can't go haphazardly into this," he said. "We have to look and make sure it's financially sound."
Unlike D-II girls basketball and softball, which were added a year ago, the new D-II volleyball and boys basketball tournaments won't be funded by revenue from the state football tournament.
HIADA's general assembly also voted on the following items yesterday. Motions that were approved must also pass through the HHSAA board in two weeks.
Items approved:
» Hawaii's five leagues must determine which teams are in Division I and Division II prior to the start of the season and teams cannot change after the season starts.
» D-II softball and girls basketball will continue to be funded by Division II football profits.
» Leagues are not automatically guaranteed a berth in both D-I and D-II tournaments of a particular sport.
» The distance of girls cross country races will increase from the current 2 miles to 2.5 miles starting next season and then to 3 miles the following year.
» Several tournaments are changing sites -- bowling moves from Oahu to Kauai, boys volleyball moves from Oahu to the Big Island and girls volleyball moves from Oahu to Maui in 2004-05, while boys soccer moves from Oahu to Maui in 2005-06.
» The state boys and girls tennis tournaments will expand from three to four days. This was done to reduce the chances of players competing in too many matches within a short period of time. Last year, the two defending individual champions retired in the final and required medical attention due to severe heat stroke. They had both played a semifinal match a few hours earlier.
Items defeated:
» Raising state tournament adult ticket prices at Aloha Stadium, Murakami Stadium, Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium and Blaisdell Arena from $7 to $9.
» Keeping boys and girls volleyball tournaments on Oahu.
» Keeping boys and girls soccer tournaments on Oahu.
» Allowing the Big Island to join the rotation to host state track meets.
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Proposal to restructure
state tourneys is tabledMany ADs support the idea, which will
be discussed by an HHSAA committee
SOUTH KOHALA, Hawaii » Hawaii high school state tournaments may undergo big changes in the near future.
Many of the state's athletic directors supported a motion to change the tournament formats yesterday at their annual conference on the Big Island.
But after a plea from Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya, the proposal was tabled for further discussion by an HHSAA committee.
Most team sports invite 12 teams to Division I tournaments and four teams to Division II. Under the proposal, the amount of teams in a tournament would be based on the amount of squads competing in the state.
For instance, sports with 51 or more teams would have a 12-team tournament and sports with 32 or more squads would go by an eight-team format, while sports with 31 or less teams would hold a six-team event.
If it passed, several high-profile, 12-team tournaments would have been trimmed, including Division I softball to six and Division I girls basketball to eight. It would have also increased Division II girls basketball from four to eight teams.
"This could fundamentally change the nature of state tournaments," Amemiya said. "It's the biggest issue I've been confronted with -- bigger than 16-team tournaments (a proposal that was defeated several years ago) and bigger than Division II (which passed for the first time last year after many years of discussion).
"We have time to think about it and do the right thing. I'm not against the idea and agree that it needs to be done sooner or later. I think keeping 12-team tournaments in Division I and four-team tournaments in Division II, which has worked pretty darn well, is our best option while we work on a more permanent plan. There's no reason why we need to do it now."
Amemiya and Iolani AD Carl Schroers think reducing tourney teams in major sports or having the same number of D-I and D-II teams in a given sport's tournaments would weaken the events.
"Division I tournaments are our flagships and we don't want to jeopardize them," Schroers said.
The proposal was presented by the Oahu Interscholastic Association, and several of that league's ADs wanted HIADA to act on it yesterday.
"Let's vote now," Nanakuli's Hugh Taufaasau said moments before the plan was tabled.
Roosevelt's Rodney Iwasaki mentioned HHSAA by-laws that call for 12- and eight-team tournaments only.
"One reason we need to set new guidelines is because we're not following the ones we have now," he said, referring to the four-team D-II tournaments not covered in the by-laws. "We need something to follow instead of just winging it."
Kahuku's Joe Whitford and Kapolei's Elden Esmeralda are also proponents of the plan.
"We want to make it fair for everyone, fair and equal representation for all teams," Whitford said.
"These teams deserve more representation," Esmeralda said.
Before the proposal was tabled, Amemiya was asked several times if the HHSAA will indeed form a committee to look at ways of formulating new guidelines, even though there was no official HIADA mandate to do so. He said "yes" each time.