[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
OIA transfers will
sit out 1 year
In less than two months, the Oahu Interscholastic Association will adopt a rule forcing athletes transferring from one high school to another to sit out a year before they can play their chosen sport.
The OIA's principals and athletic directors met last week at the Pacific Beach Hotel and the principals voted to approve a new rule that aims at prohibiting transfers for athletic reasons.
"I think we're doing the right thing," Kapolei athletic director Elden Esmeralda said. "The intent is to stop athletes from jumping from school to school to school just to play a sport. School is about education foremost, and if you're able to play sports, that's a plus, but it's not the reason you go to school."
For years, athletes who wanted to go outside their district and play sports at another school right away could do so by applying for and receiving a geographic exemption.
Starting Aug. 18, the only way athletes can transfer and play the same sports they did the year before is if their families or legal guardians move into or already live in the new school's district.
Athletes who receive geographic exemptions won't be barred from transferring and playing a different sport than they did the previous year. They will also be welcome to re-enter their original sport after sitting out a year.
Castle athletic director Richard Haru likes the change.
"It was necessary," he said. "We want to make sure athletes aren't just changing schools because they think a certain athletic program is better. Unfortunately, in some cases, athletes have been encouraged to transfer schools for that reason."
Haru is referring to recruiting, which is -- depending on who you talk to -- infrequent, rampant or somewhere in between.
"I don't think there's anyone in the OIA who thinks recruiting is acceptable," Esmeralda said.
Kahuku AD Joe Whitford said the vote by principals for the new rule was unanimous, but he has some reservations.
"We have tons of football players who transfer to Kailua because they don't have a real opportunity of seeing playing time with us," he said. "Now that option is out of the question. And as far as players switching to our school, there are other reasons aside from athletics that they want to come here. One of those reasons is that we have a very conservative campus. If it's better for a student-athlete's academic progress to come here than to stay at where he is at, then maybe he should be able to come here without being penalized by not being able to play a sport."
The new rule is a step toward a uniform statewide transfer rule. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu and the Maui Interscholastic League already have policies in place that force athletes to sit out a period of time after transferring.
The MIL, which also severely penalizes a player who transfers twice, was a forerunner in the OIA's decision for a tougher transfer rule, according to Haru and Whitford.
"They were really having problems with kids transferring for athletic reasons," Haru said. "It was very blatant and was getting out of hand over there."
Whitford said the rule also includes an appeals process for athletes who transfer and are denied the opportunity to play their chosen sport.