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WIAA tries to keep school sports alive

Posted in Everything changes, tagged , , , , on July 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Cross country runners could be in action this fall. Maybe. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The proposal for a new-look four-season athletic schedule.

Hope lives. For now, at least.

While acknowledging things are changing on a daily basis, and there are still a lot of questions to answer, the Executive Board of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association offered a plan Tuesday for high school sports being played during the 2020-2021 school year.

Under the plan, the WIAA will try to work around the COVID-19 pandemic by shifting sports deemed “high-risk” or “moderate-risk” by health officials, moving them from this fall to next spring.

For Coupeville, that means football, volleyball, and soccer are on the move to 2021, with the state going from a traditional three-season athletic year to a temporary four-season one.

Only “low-risk” sports — cross country and boys tennis at CHS — will begin practices in early September (or later), and then only if certain benchmarks are met.

The WIAA Executive Board, which is working with state health officials and Governor Jay Inslee’s office, plans to meet July 28 to hash out what that exactly means.

For now, the Wolves look as good as anyone, as Island County is in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, the minimum level required to play “low-risk” sports.

Counties must be in Phase 4 to play “moderate-risk” sports, while WIAA officials have said “high-risk sports” will only be viable in a “Phase 4-plus” environment, and what that means is still anyone’s guess.

If it’s decided the benchmarks for starting “low-risk” sports haven’t been met by the first week of September, those sports could start later.

They could also be moved from “Season 1” to “Season 3,” with no high school sports being played until January.

The plan, which you can see in more detail in the photo above, is, like everything in our pandemic-ravaged world, a work in progress.

“When you look at dates, those are definitely written in pencil,” WIAA Executive Director Mick Hoffman said with a weary half-smile during a follow-up press conference.

 

How the four-season plan would break down for CHS:

 

Season 1
(9/7 to 11/8)

Cross Country
Boys Tennis

 

Season 2
(1/4 to 3/7)

Girls Basketball
Boys Basketball

 

Season 3
(3/1 to 5/2)

Volleyball
Football
Girls Soccer
Boys Soccer

**Cross Country/Boys Tennis (if Season 1 cancelled)**

 

Season 4
(4/26 to 6/27)

Softball
Baseball
Girls Tennis
Track and Field

 

A few of the many questions everyone wants an answer to:

 

**Schools are currently deciding whether to go with 100% in-person classes, 100% online classes, or a mix of both. How will that affect whether a school plays?

Short answer: no one knows yet.

 

**On the new schedule, there’s a gap between Season 1 and Season 2. Why?

It’s to give WIAA officials more flexibility to start the season late, or end it late, as they deal with the issues around returning to play, weather conditions, and the start of the traditional flu season.

 

**Will shorter seasons mean less games?

Maybe.

The WIAA gives leagues and schools a lot of leeway on scheduling, so, if teams can play, it’s up to people like CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith to figure out how many games they can get in.

 

**Instead of three-sport athletes, if the new schedule goes down as intended, could we see four-sport athletes?

Absolutely.

While seasons will slightly overlap, Hoffman said the WIAA is likely to allow some preseason practice requirements be met by playing a sport in the prior season.

That would allow athletes to be ready for games in the next sport much quicker than in previous years.

 

**Could there be multiple state champs per classification in each sport?

Possibly.

If the WIAA is unable to hold traditional state tournaments, one idea being considered, Hoffman said, is to have multiple regional events, limiting travel, with each champ earning a state title trophy.

For now, though, it’s just an intriguing idea on the back burner.

 

**If teams can play, will there be enough refs and umpires to hold games?

Maybe.

A survey of officials state-wide showed 30% of them are “not comfortable working at this time.” If that holds up, especially in areas where officials are predominately older, it could present serious issues.

 

**What about monitoring athletes and coaches for COVID-19? And what if positive tests start coming in?

Currently, the WIAA is not requiring tests, but Coupeville athletes have to present a written note from their parent or guardian before each practice asserting they don’t have a fever or show symptoms.

After that, well, no one really seems to have a concrete answer.

 

**What about middle school sports?

That’s on the list of things to get done, but the WIAA hasn’t gotten there yet.

 

**Will fans be allowed to attend games?

Possibly.

“We certainly hope so,” Hoffman said. “It’s important for kids to play in front of the people who love them.”

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Former Wolf coach earns admin job

Posted in Everything changes, tagged , , , , , , on June 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Jon Atkins, seen during his days as Coupeville High School football coach. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Onward and upward.

After more than a decade teaching at Oak Harbor High School, and a two-year run coaching football in Coupeville, Jon Atkins has landed an administration job beginning next school year.

He’ll join Mariner High School in Everett as an Assistant Principal.

Atkins coached CHS football through the 2016 and 2017 seasons, becoming the first Wolf coach to beat South Whidbey in The Bucket game in back-to-back seasons.

During that time be bounced between schools, as he also coached girls basketball at OHHS.

An employee of the Oak Harbor School District since 2008, Atkins started as a coach, then went back to school to obtain his teaching certificate.

He’s taught in the Choices program at OHHS since the 2013-2014 school year.

Before accepting the Assistant Principal position at Mariner, Atkins earned an Educational Leadership administration certificate through Western Washington University.

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CHS athletes return to (limited) action

Posted in coronavirus updates, Everything changes, tagged , , , , on June 3, 2020| Leave a Comment »

After extensive planning, CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith has set up a plan for Wolf athletes to conduct spring practices. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Practice?

We’re talking about practice.

With the stay at home order lifted and Island County in Phase Two of Washington state’s plan for reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, Coupeville High School athletes will return to action.

Just with a lot of restrictions and no games.

CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith has been a busy man of late, combing through the various guidelines set down by Governor Jay Inslee and his staff, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, and the National Federation of State High School Associations.

After taking everything into consideration, Smith has established a plan for spring practices, and cleared that plan with the Island County Health Department.

Now, CHS coaches will contact their athletes to set up practice times and sites, and the information will be posted on the school’s website.

What we know:

*No practices/workouts are allowed on Coupeville School District property through June 19, since all state schools remain closed through the end of the school year.

*Coaches are allowed to work with no more than five students per week, and it must be the same students the entire week, with no swapping of coaches or students.

Students/coaches can rotate once a new week starts, but that new group must remain consistent for the remainder of the new week.

*Students may only practice with one sport per week.

*Only five students are allowed on site at one time. Coaches can not have different groups of students gathered at the same facility at the same time.

*For sports such as basketball, each student will have their own ball to use, and there will be no sharing of balls.

*Students may not share water bottles, clothing, shoes, or similar items, and social distancing rules need to be followed.

*CHS will require a signed note from a parent/guardian each day a student is practicing, stating that their child’s temperature has been checked that morning and it is normal.

These notes have to be kept in a folder and with the coach at all times.

If a student does not have a signed note they may not participate that day.

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Whidbey News-Times returns to Oak Harbor

Posted in Everything changes, tagged , , , , , on June 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

After a ten-year absence, the Whidbey News-Times is moving back to its old stomping grounds in Oak Harbor. (Photo property Garage of Blessings)

You can go home again.

A decade after taking up residence in Coupeville, the Whidbey News-Times is moving its base of operations back to Oak Harbor.

And when the newspaper returns to the Island’s biggest city, it’s landing back in the building from where it came.

The News-Times will occupy the top floor at 800 SE Barrington Drive, right next to the Oak Harbor police station, but this time around reporters and ad salespeople will share the residence.

Back in olden days, like when I was Sports Editor for a hot moment from 1992-1994, the WNT used the entire building, with printing presses camped out in the back half of the ground floor.

The downstairs is now occupied by Garage of Blessings, a non-profit thrift store which relocated there in 2018.

Sound Publishing, the parent company which owns the News-Times, also owns the Barrington building, and has chosen to move the newspaper staff back to Oak Harbor.

The WNT moved its base of operations to Coupeville in early 2010, and has been the anchor of the Coupe’s Village development on S. Main Street ever since.

At first, the News-Times shared office space with its sister paper, the South Whidbey Record, though later the Record returned to its own roots, opening an office on the South end of the Island.

After Sound Publishing purchased the previously-independent Coupeville Examiner, that newspaper also operated out of the S. Main Street location until the paper was discontinued.

Later, after a change in staffing, the Record returned to the building as well.

With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down most Washington state businesses, and throwing the brakes on print advertising, Sound Publishing combined the News-Times and Record into one paper, which still publishes twice a week.

It’s expected the papers will return to operating as separate publications at some point down the road.

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Bagbys depart CHS halls

Posted in Everything changes, tagged , , , , on May 23, 2020| 1 Comment »

CHS legends Marie and Ron Bagby are both retiring. (Ashley Heilig photo)

2020 is turning into a farewell tour for longtime Wolves.

On the heels of Randy King announcing his retirement as a Coupeville High School teacher, Ron and Marie Bagby are joining him in exiting the building.

The retirements of the husband/wife duo, who have both worked for the school district for decades, are included on the agenda for the next school board meeting, set for Tuesday, May 26.

Ron Bagby, who coached football, basketball, and track and field at CHS, after arriving in Cow Town from the wilds of Forks, was currently a PE teacher at the school.

Marie Bagby, née Grasser, is a graduate of Coupeville who was the school’s first big-time female basketball star, starting a legacy continued by younger sister Marlene.

Playing for the Wolves between 1976-1980, she rang up 321 points, and still sits as the #34 scorer all-time in program history.

Marie operated as the registrar for her alma mater, while all four of her children – April, Ashley, Mike, and Jason – followed her path as Wolf athletic stars and CHS grads.

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