It’s official. Coupeville athletes like Chelsea Prescott and Heidi Meyers (in grey) are headed to the Northwest 2B/1B League next school year. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Times have changed and times are strange.
Here I come, but I ain’t the same.
Mama, I’m coming home.
Echoing the words of Ozzy Osbourne, Coupeville High School athletics are going back to their old stomping grounds.
Finally.
After years of being forced to play against bigger schools, CHS returns to its true classification, and its old league, starting with next school year.
When the 2020-2021 school year kicks into gear next August, the Wolves will be a member of the Northwest 2B/1B League, with the 1A North Sound Conference disintegrating in their rear-view mirror.
The change comes after the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association changed directions, and decided to no longer attempt to keep the classifications (4A, 3A, 2A, 1A, 2B, 1B) balanced.
In previous classification counts, that meant Coupeville, despite having a 2B-sized student body, was routinely shoved up to 1A, where it existed as one of the smallest schools.
Beginning with the 2020 classification count (the next one is in 2024), the state has opted to go with hard count numbers. You land between two numbers, you’re in that class.
If one division is noticeably bigger or smaller than others, the number of teams advancing to state tournaments will be adjusted accordingly.
Once it became obvious Coupeville’s current numbers would land it firmly in 2B for at least the next four years, CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith reached out to the Northwest League, where the Wolves played for many decades.
He was welcomed with open arms, then things got weird for a bit (more on that in a second), then everything went back to being full-on hunky-dory.
With some current schools in the league also dropping down a rung in the new counts, the new-look league will feature three 2B schools (Coupeville, Friday Harbor, La Conner) and four 1B schools (Orcas Island, Concrete, Darrington, Mount Vernon Christian).
The move to 2B should be hugely beneficial to Coupeville, as it levels the playing field.
Gone are posh private schools, with the Wolves returning to competing against similarly-sized (or smaller) schools, with the majority being rural public schools like CHS.
There will be some wrinkles to adjust to going forward, such as boys soccer moving from the spring to the fall, as 2B plays both girls and boys soccer in the same season.
But, it could have been a lot wilder.
With Coupeville leaving the North Sound Conference, private schools King’s and Cedar Park Christian announced their intentions to jump ship, as well.
That left South Whidbey, Granite Falls, and Sultan in limbo, and the public schools reached out to the Northwest Conference to talk about forming a 1A/2B/1B league next year.
Meanwhile, the ultra-posh Emerald City League, which is comprised mostly of Seattle-based private schools, contacted the North Sound Conference and raised the idea of forming a “super league.”
That would have brought together 12-14 schools, with some sports broken into divisions based on level of play, which nicely addresses “competitive equity.”
As talks progressed on both fronts, the classification numbers were fine-tuned.
While five of the six Northwest Conference schools are currently 2B, with just Mount Vernon Christian at 1B, that was going to change, with Concrete, Darrington, and Orcas dropping down.
La Conner and Friday Harbor, which will both remain at 2B, then proposed a third option, in which the two schools would unite with Coupeville, South Whidbey, Sultan, and Granite Falls in a 1A/2B league.
Confused yet?
Imagine the never-ending chain of conversations Willie Smith was involved in.
In the end, a compromise was found.
South Whidbey, Granite Falls, King’s, CPC, and Sultan are opting to stay together, and have begun the process to move from District 1 to District 2.
Once there, they will unite with the Emerald City League schools and form a new conference – the Emerald Sound League.
Meanwhile, Coupeville remains in District 1, and comes home to the Northwest Conference.
“We are very excited to be in this league,” Willie Smith said. “It’s a strong group of AD’s which we have maintained relationships with over the years in non-league contests.
“The level of competition will be strong, requiring us to continue to work to develop our programs, and it also allows all of our programs the opportunity to have success on a nightly basis and compete for league championships throughout.
“Obviously, there are challenges, but we always have challenges, which is what makes our programs stronger.”
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