Restructuring wrong

As current coaches in the state of Washington and members of the Washington State Coaches Association, we want to urge all players old and new, parents and fans to immediately contact WIAA director Mike Colbrese and any executive board member in your area and ask them to reconsider their decision on restructuring the high school basketball state tournaments.

The decision appears to be rash and in simple terms, the smaller schools are paying a huge price for the financial problems the larger schools are experiencing. Most troubling for us is as recently as a few months ago, we were told nothing was going to happen anytime soon by WIAA staffers.

As coaches who have participated in the B, 1A and 2A state tournaments in our careers, we can attest to the excitement that qualifying for a state tournament brings to a school and a community. Cheapening that experience by reducing by half the number of students who get to take part in the state experience is saddening to us.

It is our hope that the WIAA and executive board has significantly underestimated the importance that small schools hold for the state basketball tournaments. It is a tradition like no other.

Robi Raab

East Valley (Yakima) High coach

Andy Affholter

Granger High coach