Revised HHSAA calendar approved; fall season extended to winter | News, Sports, Jobs
Lahainaluna High School’s Joshua Tihada evades Kapaa’s Kaiola Lingaton during the Lunas’ 21-10 win in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state championship game on Nov. 29, 2019. This season’s state championships for football have been moved to the week of Jan. 3-9, 2022. — ANDREW LEE photo
The prep football season will stretch into January after the Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive board on Friday unanimously approved a modified calendar calling for state tournaments in every sport this school year.
To comply with the state Department of Education’s pause on extracurricular activities until Sept. 24, the HHSAA calendar allows for three full seasons from that date.
Until that time, leagues will be allowed to govern themselves as to what will be allowed, the HHSAA said in a news release emailed Friday.
“It is a testament to our members to be able to agree to a calendar on such short notice,” HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun said in the release. “Furthermore, this calendar preserves league and state championships, which gives student-athletes something that has been missing since February 2020. It shows the Department of Education, Department of Health, and our state and county leaders that there is a plan in place once all schools can resume on September 24th.”
Each league in the state — the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, Interscholastic League of Honolulu, Kauai Interscholastic Federation, Maui Interscholastic League and Oahu Interscholastic Association — voted to approve the new state tournament schedules.
Jamie Yap, the MIL voting member of the HHSAA executive board and principal at Maui High School, was encouraged by the approval of the state dates.
“I just thought the schedule was fair and it addressed all of the leagues’ concerns,” Yap said. “That’s the best we can do to support athletes, that was my thought.”
Football will finish the week of Jan. 3-9, according to a Google document emailed with the news release. Previously released state tournament dates had the state football championship games being played on Nov. 27.
Chun told KHON2 that the dates are guidelines and specifically that the Open and Division I state football tournaments may only require two weekends of play, while the Division II tournament will most likely require three weekends to complete.
State tournament dates for other fall sports — air riflery, bowling, cross country and girls volleyball — were all pushed back to finish during the week of Dec. 6-10. All of those sports had previously been slated to finish in October.
Cheerleading is now slated to finish the week of Dec. 13-19; the state meet had been scheduled for Nov. 6.
If MIL football games begin the weekend of Oct. 8-9 — as has been speculated — the league would have 11 weekends to play its season, enough time for its traditional two-round schedule and a championship week before state tournament play would begin.
Under the revised schedule, the winter sports season is also pushed back a few weeks from its traditional dates, with most state championships set for early March.
Yap said that it would likely take a week or two for the MIL to release its new fall sports schedules.
“I think each AD has the challenge to go back and complete all their schedules because it might impact the entire school year, depending on where it ends and where it begins,” Yap said. “They have got to get the fall sports all squared away … with the county as far as facilities.”
Despite the staggering COVID-19 case numbers through the state right now, Yap is confident that sports will be played on the new timeline.
“We know that the kids can get together after the 24th, and we know our league games can start in October,” Yap said. “Once the ADs get that squared away — and they’re close, they have that understanding and they have some days already on paper. So, it’s just a matter of them all agreeing to the dates and then putting that to the county.
“The biggest step is getting the venues available from the county and that’s going to happen because we work well with the county.”
Yap said Friday’s developments were a huge step to returning to high school sports.
“Excited to say that it’s not canceled, one,” Yap said. “And again today we heard the governor speak to the pandemic and the numbers being so high, but there is no discussion about closing school. So, if the discussion is not about closing school, then this will happen.”
He also noted that medical and religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate are available to student-athletes as long as the circumstances are valid.
“Based on the fact that to participate in athletics you’ve got to be vaccinated, then it’ll happen,” Yap said of the season. “I think families are going to have to make some hard decisions … but there’s still ways to participate even if you’re not vaccinated.”
Pohai Lee, the Baldwin head football coach, said he is “cautiously optimistic” after Friday’s announcement.
“I take the news with encouragement, but again I have careful optimism,” Lee said. “I say that because with the cases rising as they have, especially with today’s 1,167 (new COVID-19 cases reported in the state), I’m more of a wait-and-see person. I know that September 24th is the next date that’s proposed, and I just want to see what happens when we get to that point and kind of get more excited as we’re getting more into practice.”
Maui High football coach Robert Dougherty said he is taking the news with optimism.
“It’s exciting to get something on paper, a plan, and it sounds like they’re going to be able to fit two rounds into that schedule,” Dougherty said. “It’s exciting. That’s really cool. I’m glad that they were able to come up with something that is going to work for everybody.
“These are new times in our history, so they call for drastic measures sometimes. Pushing the state date may be inconvenient at times, but as long as the kids get out there and play, that’s what it’s all about. My hat’s off to those guys to get the schedule (done). I know it can’t be easy to try to deal with all the policies and requirements.”
Yap concluded, “The beauty about all of this is the HHSAA is saying that we’re going to start. The leagues are saying ‘we’re getting together to start.’ The MIL is in it together to start, so we will playing private schools, which means private schools have agreed to have their athletes on the same plane with us, as far as being vaccinated and so forth, which is very promising. … Nobody is going have an advantage.”
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com
_______________
2021-2022 HHSAA CALENDAR
Released Friday
SportStart dateStates
Girls volleyball9/27-10/312/6-12/10
Cross country9/27-10/312/6-12/10
Air riflery9/27-10/312/6-12/10
Bowling9/27-10/312/6-12/10
Cheerleading9/27-10/312/13-12/19
Football9/27-10/312/27-1/2,
1/3-1/9
Girls basketball11/29-12/52/14-2/19
Girls soccer12/6-12/102/21-2/27
Canoe paddling12/13-12/192/28-3/6
Swim/diving12/13-12/192/28-3/6
Boys basketball12/13-12/192/28-3/6
Boys soccer12/13-12/192/28-3/6
Wrestling12/13-12/193/7-3/13
Water polo2/21-2/275/2-5/8
Tennis2/21-2/275/2-5/8
Judo2/21-2/275/2-5/8
Boys volleyball2/21-2/275/2-5/8
Golf2/21-2/275/2-5/8
Track and field2/21-2/275/9-5/15
Softball2/21-2/275/9-5/15
Baseball2/21-2/275/9-5/15
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Today • HHSAA swimming and diving 8:30 a.m.—State championships, dive finals, at Kihei Aquatic Center. 1 ...
BOWLING ALOHA FRIDAY LEAGUE Feb. 2 Results At Wailuku Lanes Standings—Anela’s 61, Jonathan’s 59.5, ...
Lola Donez scored 19 points in her final game with the Lahainaluna High School girls basketball team as the Lunas ...
Top-seeded Iolani School got a golden goal off the post in the 89th minute on Friday night for a 1-0 overtime win ...
Today • HHSAA swimming and diving 10 a.m.—State championships, dive prelims, at Kihei Aquatic ...
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqynqKqkqHytu8Kao2aroKS%2Ftb%2BOa2draV9lhXC%2BxK%2BgrJ2UYrWpv8CaZJyZnJq7pa3RZpipqKKkw6awjJ%2BYpaRdqLKiv86nZJ6wpJq7pbHDZquoZaeeu7Wx0Wg%3D