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Posts Tagged ‘WIAA’

Shoot faster, hit less, play younger

Posted in Everything changes, tagged , , , , on May 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Logan Martin and other boys basketball players will have a shorter shot clock to work with next season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Change is coming.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced Monday its Representative Assembly passed 18 amendments, covering a broad range of sports.

The first change which jumps out is the decision to allow 6th graders to participate in all WIAA sports with the exception of football.

That amendment passed by the absolute skin of its teeth, getting the minimum “yes” votes needed in a 32-21 thriller.

Track and cross country were used as test sports for the idea, with Coupeville Middle School among those who participated.

With WIAA approval, if just barely, now the decision lands in the hands of local administrators.

For 6th graders to compete, there has to be school (principal, superintendent, school board), league, and district approval.

It’s unknown at this time if CMS, which fields volleyball, boys soccer, cross country, girls and boys basketball, and track teams, will go all in on the new status quo.

Another amendment lowers the shot clock for high school boys basketball from 35 to 30 seconds, making it uniform with the girls game.

That decision didn’t seem to induce any panic in Coupeville High School coach Brad Sherman.

“I’m confident our guys can get a good look in 30 seconds,” he said with a big smile.

The shot clock vote passed at 50-3, while an amendment to allow contact at only one practice during two-a-day football workouts went through with a 27-7-1 tally.

That change won’t alter how CHS football approaches practice.

“Our normal two-a-day consists of offense in the morning and defense in the afternoon,” said Wolf head coach Marcus Carr. “We never tackle during offensive periods, that is install.

“During defensive practice we install the defense and we have a tackling progression circuit we conduct. So this will not impact us that much.”

In fact, the amendment just puts into words how many high school gridiron teams already operate.

“It’s about keeping the players as safe as possible by limiting contact and my staff and I are fully onboard with that,” Carr said. “We have the equipment necessary to teach safe proper techniques/tackling without beating ourselves up.”

While 18 amendments passed, five failed, and none crashed harder than a plea to allow high school basketball teams to schedule 24 regular-season games instead of 20.

That idea was snuffed out by a 31-4 vote.

The WIAA Representative Assembly is made up of 53 school administrators pulled from all nine of the state’s districts, with 35 from high schools and 18 from middle schools.

An amendment needed a 60% approval rate to pass, and most go into effect beginning with the 2020-2021 school year.

 

To see everything passed, and read more about each amendment, pop over to:

http://wiaa.com/News.aspx?ID=1703&Mon=5&Yr=2020

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Shortened games, shortened season?

Posted in Baseball, Boys Soccer, Girls Tennis, Softball, Track, tagged , , , , , on March 26, 2020| Leave a Comment »

If Coupeville track stars like Raven Vick (left) and Ja’Tarya Hoskins get the chance to compete this spring, they will face a shortened season. (Brian Vick photo)

If there is a spring high school sports season, teams can play shortened games in an effort to complete as much of the schedule as possible in a very short time.

That recommendation was offered Wednesday by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Currently, all schools in the state are shut down through April 24 on the orders of Governor Jay Inslee, as the fight to blunt the spread of coronavirus continues.

If students return to school at the end of the six-week shutdown, with the first classes April 27, they will have to put in 10 practices and then can begin games.

The WIAA previously announced it would offer a waiver, allowing schools to conduct 10 practices in five days time.

It also stated state championships will not be played later than Saturday, May 30, so as not to conflict with graduations in June.

That means if the six-week shutdown is lengthened at all, spring sports could be in jeopardy.

If Washington goes the route of states such as Kansas and cancels classes through the end of the 2019-2020 school year, there would definitely be no spring athletic season.

But, under a best-case scenario, with schools reopening April 27, games could begin as early as May 2.

The WIAA has directed each league and district to determine its own means of qualifying teams for the postseason, and has said it will allow teams which are not in the playoffs to continue regular season games through May 30.

While it’s highly-doubtful schools could play, say, an entire 20-game baseball season in four weeks time, shortened games and multiple contests on the same day will be allowed.

WIAA guidelines for each sport Coupeville High School plays:

 

Baseball:

*Pitch count, which is a daily limit and not a game limit, will still be enforced.

“Care should be taken to insure that pitchers are not exceeding their arm strength and conditioning during this shortened season,” the WIAA said. “Coaches have an obligation to take care of their pitchers.”

*Teams will be allowed to play shortened games, with five innings being a complete game.

*May 19 is the final day for teams to qualify for regionals, with state championships May 29-30.

 

Boys Soccer:

*Teams will be allowed to play shortened games, with one half of play constituting a complete game.

*May 19 is the final day for teams to qualify for state. The tourney will be played May 23, 26, 29, and 30.

 

Girls Tennis:

*Athletes will be allowed to play multiple matches in the same day, but can not exceed nine sets per day.

*May 24 is the final day for individuals to qualify for state.

 

Softball:

*Teams will be allowed to play shortened games, with five innings constituting a complete game.

*May 24 is the final day for teams to qualify for state.

 

Track and Field:

*If an athlete competes on their own at an invitational during the shut down, their marks don’t count toward automatic qualifying standards for state. These standards must be met during school-sponsored meets.

*Athletes will still be restricted to competing in a maximum of four events during school-sponsored meets.

*May 24 is the final day for qualifier meets, with the state meet set for May 28-30.

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Get that money, Wolves!

Posted in Scholarships, tagged , , , , on March 19, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School seniors have two weeks left to get in the running for a $5,000 college scholarship.

The 2020 Smart Choices Scholarships are offered by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the Dairy Farmers of Washington, and Les Schwab Tires.

The program, in its eighth go-round, honors one female and one male high school student for their achievements in athletics/activities, the community, and the classroom.

While the winners net $5,000 apiece, eight other finalists also receive $1,000 scholarships.

The deadline to apply is April 1.

Seniors need to fill out an online application and write a short essay on “How you plan to use your education to benefit others.”

Judging is based on athletic/activity excellence (35%), academic achievement (35%), leadership (15%), citizenship/community service (10%), and originality/creativity of the essay (5%).

To find out more and apply, pop over to:.

http://wiaa.com/smartchoices.aspx

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Spring sports remain in limbo

Posted in coronavirus updates, tagged , , , , on March 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville athletes and coaches such as Randy King are sidelined. (Brian Vick photo)

Control what you can control.

With that in mind, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association issued a statement Tuesday in regards to spring sports during the battle to blunt the spread of coronavirus.

There were two primary take-aways.

One, if school closures across the state do end April 24, as is currently planned, the WIAA intends to hold its state championship events as scheduled.

But, any further delays “could put the state championships in jeopardy, as no championships will be held after May 30 to avoid conflicts with graduation.”

If students are allowed to return to class, the first day sports could start back up would be April 27, but all athletes would have to re-do the 10 practices they need to be eligible to compete.

“No matter the outcome of the following weeks, there will be no reduction to the minimum number of practices required to compete,” the WIAA said in its statement.

However, the organization would offer a blanket waiver, allowing athletes to reach 10 practices in five days, instead of the normal 10.

“As an example, administrators could hold a schoolwide conditioning practice before classes and sport-specific practices in the afternoon as a way to reach 10 practices efficiently and safely,” the WIAA said.

If sports do return April 27, games could begin the first week of May.

Even then, seasons would have to be compressed, especially in team sports, as there wouldn’t be enough time to play complete schedules.

One option which has been raised is having team sports such as baseball and softball immediately open play with a league tournament to decide postseason berths.

The losing teams would then pair off and play regular season games, and the WIAA would grant all schools the ability to continue play through May 30.

Nothing has been decided, however.

During the six-week shutdown, coaches are not allowed to work with athletes, teams are not allowed to practice together, and the WIAA is putting an emphasis on school leaders standing firm and honoring restrictions placed by Governor Jay Inslee.

 

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Coupeville’s move to 2B set in stone

Posted in Classification, tagged , , , , on January 26, 2020| Leave a Comment »

“We’re going to 2B. It’s right over there!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s official-official.

Coupeville High School will leave the 1A classification behind and drop to 2B beginning with the 2020-2021 school year.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association finalized classification numbers Sunday, locking in state schools for the 2020-2024 cycle.

After years of being one of the smallest 1A schools, Coupeville will now be the fifth-biggest out of 61 schools in the 2B classification.

With an adjusted enrollment of 206 students in grades 9-11, CHS trails just Okanogan (212.03), Kittitas-Thorp (212.12), Kalama (217), and Goldendale (224.73).

In years past, the WIAA attempted to keep the number of schools in each classification, which run from 4A down to 1B, fairly even in size.

That meant Coupeville, despite having 2B numbers, was bumped up to pad out the bottom of 1A.

Things changed this time around, however, as the WIAA has gone to hard numbers. This time around, if you fall between 105 and 224 students, you’re 2B and no one can move you.

After numbers were finalized Sunday, the classifications for 2020-2024 will be:

4A — 1300+ students — 51 schools
3A — 900-1299 students — 79 schools
2A — 450-899 students — 62 schools
1A — 225-449 students — 60 schools
2B — 105-224 students — 61 schools
1B — 1-104 students — 85 schools

One other change is the number of state tournament entries per classification.

For 4A, 2A, 1A, and 2B, it will remain 16 teams.

Under new guidelines, 3A will have 20 state entries, while 1B will have 24, in an effort to give the same percentage of schools a chance to qualify in each classification.

With the drop to 2B, Coupeville leaves the 1A North Sound Conference after this school year and returns to its former stomping grounds, the Northwest 2B/1B League.

Their new/old rivals will be La Conner, Darrington, Concrete, Orcas Island, Friday Harbor, and Mount Vernon Christian.

Coupeville, La Conner, and Friday Harbor will be 2B, while the other four league schools will be 1B schools.

Whidbey Island’s other two schools, South Whidbey and Oak Harbor, remain in the same classifications as before – 1A and 3A, respectively.

 

To see the 2020-2024 classifications, pop over to:

http://wiaa.com/ardisplay.aspx?ID=1898

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