Coupeville Athletic Director Willie Smith contemplates a future in which his school will have increased playoff opportunities. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Get comfortable, cause no one is going anywhere.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association finalized its classification numbers Sunday for the 2024-2028 cycle, and the seven-team Northwest 2B/1B League won’t be affected at all.
Well, a little bit, but in a pro-Coupeville way.
The Wolves, Friday Harbor, and La Conner remain as 2B schools, while Mount Vernon Christian and Orcas Island go from 1B to 2B.
Darrington and Concrete remain as 1B institutions.
With the NWL going from a league where 1B schools held the edge at 4-3, to one where 2B schools now dominate 5-2, will increase playoff opportunities in most sports for the bigger schools.
So, a positive for Coupeville, which has the largest student body in the league.
Now, the change won’t affect football, as MVC and Orcas don’t practice the dark arts of the gridiron, but God’s Chosen Sport — basketball — will definitely benefit.
When setting numbers, the WIAA takes into consideration each school’s free and reduced lunches, though it calls that “Direct Cert” now.
If a school has a rate greater than the state average of 34%, its enrollment number is reduced, with a cap at 40%.
Two NWL schools — La Conner and Concrete — had their numbers adjusted for this reason.
Schools with an adjusted student body of 1-104 land in 1B, with 105-224 calling 2B home.
Going forward, there are 54 schools in 2B and 105 in 1B.
For those that care, the other numbers are 60 schools in 4A, 73 in 3A, 63 in 2A, and 55 in 1A.
Whidbey Island’s two other schools, Oak Harbor (1,179.88 students) and South Whidbey (273.63) remain 3A and 1A schools in the next cycle.
Where NWL schools currently sit:
Coupeville — 192.50
Friday Harbor — 185.63
Mount Vernon Christian — 134.63
Orcas Island — 123.00
La Conner — 108.36 adjusted from 129.00
Concrete — 87.31 adjusted from 93.88
Darrington — 85.38
The next classification cycle begins in August and runs through the 2027-2028 school year, assuring current Coupeville Middle School 8th graders will be 2B athletes for the entirety of their high school careers.
To crunch all the numbers, pop over to:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10QWzZeJ2LOeHhIMS3waPTz7SXEAXWWHxuUXJ2qI4RAw/edit#gid=0
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