New Classifications Proposed

[rainbowgirl28]

What do you all think about having 6 classifications?

Here's one article about it... there are a ton out there http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/h ... iaa29.html

[ashcraftpv]

retarded

there are already too many

[rainbowgirl28]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/h ... iaa30.html


Sixth class approved for state's schools

By Sandy Ringer

Seattle Times staff reporter

AUBURN â€â€

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2 ... derson.txt

Classification change might do more harm than good

By Rick Anderson - Daily World Sports editor

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 11:28 AM PDT

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The problem with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is that it is too darn democratic.

That comment, needless to say, was made partly tongue in cheek. But only partly, since it was the will of a vast majority at Friday's WIAA Representative Assembly meeting that spawned a classification change that ultimately could do more harm than good to state prep sports.

Attempting to equalize the number of schools in each classification - and facing considerable opposition to its first attempted fix last year - the Rep Assembly overwhelmingly passed two amendments that would create a sixth classification in the 2006-07 school year. The top four classes would each be comprised of 17 percent of high schools in the state, while the bottom two would each have 16 percent of state high schools.

The issue might have been better resolved by a pragmatic dictator, but more on that later.

Despite the protestations of some Twin Harbors administrators, the status quo needed at least some tweaking.

The current 3A classification traditionally has numbered at least two dozen more schools than are found in the 2A class. The membership imbalance between the 4A and 2A classes is even greater.

Friday's action superseded a much-disliked proportional amendment adopted last year - the so-called 28/18 plan - that would have retained the present five classifications but also produced massive enrollment disparities within the same classes and probably eliminated B-8 football in the state.

Still, creating a sixth classification opens a veritable Pandora's Box of problems that figure to outweigh the potential benefits.

The debits include the reduction of traditional rivalries and geographically logical leagues, the diminishing of district tournaments (which increasingly would become one-league affairs) and the difficulty of finding suitable venues for the increase in state tournaments.

The six-classification measure also rips the guts out of the State Class B Basketball Tournament, one of the state's most popular and lucrative events, by relegating several traditional participants to the C classification.

And, since the Rep Assembly didn't address the issue of "opt-ups" (schools agreeing to play in a higher classification than their enrollment would dictate), the 2A classification might end up growing by only a handful of schools.

Montesano, which will likely shift from the 2A to the 1A class in 2006-07 under this plan (Monte athletic director Tim Trimble said the county seat school probably would have dropped to 1A by the 2008-09 school year even under the current enrollment standards), provides a textbook example of what a double-edged sword reclassification could become.

The move downward should greatly improve Monte's state prospects in some sports, including football, but have less effect on others. The 1A classification, filled with private schools, is considered stronger in soccer, for example, than the 2A class.

The Bulldogs also lose profitable league rivalries with Elma and Hoquiam, although they'll undoubtedly continue to schedule the Eagles, at least, in non-leaguers.

The greatest impact - not entirely favorable - to Montesano sports might be in softball.

Despite possessing one of the smallest enrollments in the classification, Montesano has won four state 2A softball titles in the past seven years.

The drop in class seems almost unfair to the Bulldogs' future 1A opponents - particularly since the difference in caliber of play between large and small schools may be greater in softball than any other sport. North Beach, a good bet to win the Class B Pacific League fastpitch title this year, recently dropped a 19-4 decision to Montesano's junior varsity.

But, since players tend to perform to the level of their competition, the step down also could eventually hurt the quality of Monte's softball program. That could create a snowball effect in which some players, wanting to extend themselves or seeking a larger stage on which to perform, might even transfer to larger schools.

Montesano could wind up playing in a combined 2A/1A league in soccer, a sport in which several Southwest Washington 1A schools don't offer a program. That option isn't available in softball, however. If the Bulldogs opt up to the 2A level in softball, they would have to do the same for every other sport.

If this is what democracy has wrought, how would a dictator - a benevolent one, of course - resolve the situation?

He or she might identify the 12 to 15 smallest 3A schools that would agree not to opt up and unilaterally assign them to the 2A classification. A similar percentage of 4A schools would be reclassified 3A. No sixth classification would then be necessary.

Failing that, this dictator could permit selective opt-ups (schools playing in a higher classification in some sports but not in others) and promise to leave the State B Basketball Tournament alone.

At the climax of the Oscar-winning 1957 movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai," the British prisoner of war played by Alec Guinness suddenly realizes that his single-minded insistence on building a better bridge than his Japanese captors will take a heavy toll in lives lost, including his own.

"What have I done?" he murmurs moments before expiring.

Members of the WIAA Representative might be asking the same question a few years from now.

[thinline27]

does anyone really pay attention to the league they are in? i just go out and vault and do my best, i dont really care what league im in. and besides, im a junior, wont affect my highschool career.

[rainbowgirl28]

It matters a lot what league you are in, it has a big effect on which meets you go to.

If you meant classification, that matters a lot if you are one of the better ones in the state.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/h ... tty10.html

Washington among leaders in number of classifications

By Craig Smith

Seattle Times staff reporter

Q: I noted with amusement that the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has added a sixth enrollment classification for the 2006-07 school year. That means we will have six state tournaments in some sports such as basketball. Why don't they just have 375 classifications so each school can declare itself a state champion in everything? How many classifications and tournaments do other states have?

A: We'll use boys basketball as our example because that appears to be the sport with the most teams. Here is the 2003-04 breakdown as provided by the National Federation of High School Associations: States with one state tournament: three (Delaware, Kentucky, Hawaii, plus the District of Columbia); two tournaments: two (Illinois and North Dakota); three tournaments: three (West Virginia, South Dakota, Virginia, Rhode Island); four tournaments: 20 (including Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon); five tournaments: 13 (including Washington, California, Idaho, Georgia and New York); six tournaments: six (including Florida, New Jersey and Texas); seven tournaments: two (Louisiana and Oklahoma).

As you can tell, some states with higher populations than Washington such as Pennsylvania and Ohio get by with fewer tournaments than we now have.

You aren't the only person to question whether the state needs another enrollment classification.

Personally, the extra classification doesn't bother me because an entire tier of small schools exists that never seem to get to state because the bigger B schools overwhelm them. In the 2001-02 season, tiny Lopez High School in the San Juans had one of its best boys teams ever but missed its chance to make it to state for the first time in school history.

"We're thrilled to see the C Division," said coach Brad Smith.

One other possible consequence of the new classification: Some Eastern Washington schools that combine for athletics may go back to being one-community teams.

[shaman]

does anyone really pay attention to the league they are in? i just go out and vault and do my best, i dont really care what league im in. and besides, im a junior, wont affect my highschool career.

That would be ideal across the board, but as a coach I look to see that my kid might win at state, even in spite of that kid with talent to spare down the road (hwy-16)

[ashcraftpv]

does anyone really pay attention to the league they are in? i just go out and vault and do my best, i dont really care what league im in. and besides, im a junior, wont affect my highschool career.

That would be ideal across the board, but as a coach I look to see that my kid might win at state, even in spite of that kid with talent to spare down the road (hwy-16)

heh.....no idea who you're talking about.

This change is really screwing with the league alignments for us. Our AD has told us that our league is pretty much done, as a couple of the schools are going to drop to 2A and another couple are thinking about leaving anyway. He's saying that they're going to try to form a new league with some of the schools that are going to drop to 3A. ugh

[rainbowgirl28]

There are going to be a lot more multi-classification leagues when this is sorted out.

[science geek]

trying not to be a pv newbie any more, classifications will work out. Track is about jumping higher regardless of what classification you are in.