WIAA changes will affect transfers

Last week the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association representative assembly passed a series of amendments, one with particular ramifications for Spokane Public Schools.

WIAA Student Eligibility, Transferring Students rule 18.10.0 now states “After registering with and/or attending a middle level or high school, students changing enrollment to/from one school district to another school district or from one high school to another high school within a multiple high school district sha ll be considered transferring students.” The italics indicate language change that granted WIAA full jurisdiction over districts regarding school transfers.

Concerns that too many athletes were shuffling between schools for sports reasons in Seattle because of the district’s open-enrollment policy drove the change. Spokane Public Schools have allowed such moves for years, including two high-profile actions involving football last fall.

Another concern was that athletes who were ineligible at one school for academic or rules-violation reasons could move to another school and play, which happened in the Columbia Basin in the fall. A change of rule addressed that as well. The ineligibility penalty at the previous school must be completed before an athlete can participate following a move.

All athletes ostensibly must now follow WIAA rule 18.10 with a stated philosophy that is “preventative in nature and is devised to eliminate the incentive to transfer schools when the motivation is for athletic purposes.”

What effect does that have on the GSL?

“In essence, all our schools will have to follow the state guideline,” said league secretary Randy Ryan.

This means student-athletes must meet normal residence requirements or be granted a waiver. A family must make a bona fide change in residence or the student sits out a year of varsity competition unless there are extenuating circumstances. Otherwise, they must prove the move isn’t for sports.

“When you allow kids to flow free, they must understand it could affect their eligibility,” Ryan said. “We don’t want it happening just for athletic reasons. It assures that if you transfer without moving, you either prove hardship or sit out.”

•Another amendment could also affect the GSL. Schools will be able to opt up in classification early, prior to the enrollment count, or later, after the enrollment numbers (that determine in which classification a school is placed) have been finalized. However, the schools wanting to opt up later would have to receive approval.

(To distribute schools evenly across the six classifications, schools are placed into a classification based on a percentage for each classification – 17 percent for each of the four largest and 16 percent each for the two smallest.)

Those that choose to move up early would be placed at the top of a classification, Ryan said. That, in turn, might change where the 17 percent cutoff is made for 4A schools. “If it did, that might allow more of our schools to go 3A after the line is drawn,” Ryan said.

That change won’t go into effect for two more years.

Breaking the ties

Cheney plays Pullman at West Valley today and WV faces Riverside at University to settle first place in their respective divisions of Great Northern League boys soccer.

Cheney and Pullman are tied in the South Division with 12-1 records. WV and Riverside are 9-4 in the North. Games will determine seeding into Saturday’s crossover tournament and the 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. matches at Central Valley to determine the top four seeds into district. The fifth and sixth district teams come from Saturday’s Colville at Medical Lake and Clarkston at Deer Park contests. District play begins Tuesday.

State tourney sites

Already reported, but once more for the record, the WIAA executive board has set next year’s state championship locations.

Basketball – The 4A and 3A state tournaments will be in Tacoma. State 3A moves from Seattle and will remain on the third week of the tourney schedule. To make room, the State 2A tournament will move to Yakima. States 1B and 1A remain in Yakima and 2B in Spokane.

Track and field – After several years of 4A and 3A meets in Pasco, state in 2009 will be at two locations. States 4A-3A-2A will be at Mt. Tahoma in Tacoma and the 1A-2B-1B meets will be at Eastern Washington University for three days beginning on a Thursday.