The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has released its list of academic team champions for the spring season.

Cascade Christian was the only South Sound winner, taking honors in girls golf and girls tennis.

Here is the complete list.

We're down to the final week of the high school sports year. And what a busy week it is. It all begins Wednesday with the state golf tournaments in Eastern Washington. After that, track, baseball, fastpitch, boys soccer and tennis all have their moments in the spotlight.

Here's the full schedule:

WEDNESDAY
BOYS GOLF
CLASS 4A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Canyon Lakes Golf Course
CLASS 3A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Meadow Springs Country Club
CLASS 2A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Apple Tree Golf Resort
CLASS 1A GOLF TOURNAMENT
At Columbia Point Golf Course
GIRLS GOLF
CLASS 4A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Sun Willows Golf Course
CLASS 3A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Horn Rapids Golf Club
CLASS 2A STATE TOURNAMENT
At Apple Tree Golf Resort
CLASS 1A GOLF TOURNAMENT
At Columbia Point Golf Course

Click below for the rest of the schedule.

=> Read more!

In the wake of the discovery of possible swine flu cases in the state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is monitoring the situation, but has not suspended any athletic events.

"We are working with the state Department of Health and the Office of Public Instruction," WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese said. "We don't have any confirmed cases yet, just possible cases."

There are no laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu in Washington, according to the Center for Disease Control, but state health officials reported probable cases on Wednesday – three in King County, two in Snohomish County and one in Spokane County.

Texas and Alabama have suspended high school athletic events because of swine flu outbreaks.

Texas' University Interscholastic League made its decision to postpone events until May 11 on Wednesday after 16 swine flu cases were confirmed, including the death of one child. Colbrese said there was no predetermined breaking point to suspend athletic competition.

"We will take it as it comes," he said. "We don't have a threshold. A decision will be made in concert with the Department of Health.

"We always err on the side of safety with our events. Health and safety will always be our primary concern."

Colbrese said a Seattle elementary school closed its doors today as a precaution.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association cancelled the state track and field meet, along with baseball, softball and golf events. The association hopes to renew athletic competition next week.

This might signify that Facebook has jumped the shark, but The News Tribune's Preps Blog now has its very own corner of the social media giant's site.

You can find the TNT Prep Sports group right here.

Most of the information that we will post on the Facebook page will be the same as what you will find here. Some will be different. My hope is that the Facebook platform encourages more discussion and reader interaction than this blog.

Give it a look and try it out. It's free!

In this tough economic climate, school districts are looking everywhere to save money. In Florida, that includes reducing the number of regular season games.

On Monday, the Florida High School Athletic Association took the drastic measure of shortening the regular seasons of all sports except football. The FHSAA -- Florida's version of the WIAA -- voted to cut varsity seasons by 20 percent and sub-varsity seasons by 40 percent through the 2010-11 school year.

Here's an excerpt from an Associated Press story on the matter:

The rule change was designed to cut costs for Florida high school athletic departments, which are facing tough budget constraints.

"These are unprecedented times," board president Greg Zornes said. "People are losing their jobs as schools are cutting millions and millions of dollars from their budgets. Our job is to look out for all the schools."

At the WIAA Rep Assembly on Friday, executive director Mike Colbrese spent a considerable amount of time exploring cost-saving measures with the principals, athletic directors and coaches in attendance at the Spirit of Washington Events Center in Renton. Trimming games from the schedule was one option. But Colbrese made the point that while cutting games does reduce costs, it also eliminates opportunities for schools to make money through ticket and concession sales.

Let's be honest, at the vast majority of schools, football games bring in the most money. That's why Florida isn't cutting any football games. But that's not an excuse to slice and dice the schedules of non-revenue sports or JV and C-teams.

Under an experimental rule, some schools in districts 4 and 9 have been allowed to play more than one JV basketball game in a day in the last two seasons. This reduces travel costs for schools, saving them money. It's no coincidence that the Rep Assembly passed an amendment on Friday that would allow all schools to do this.

School districts are taking serious looks at their budgets and deeming what is expendable. I won't be surprised to see some schools forgo traditional rivalries and join or create leagues that will reduce travel expenses.

If expenses must be trimmed, what cost-cutting measures do you want to see implemented first?

Click below to read the complete story on Florida high schools trimming their schedules:

=> Read more!

Here's my story on today's WIAA Rep Assembly and a list of the amendments and if they passed or failed:

BY DOUG PACEY
The News Tribune

Tick-tock, tick-tock, boys basketball has a shot clock.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Rep Assembly overwhelmingly approved an amended to implement a 35-second shot clock, passing the measure 42-11 on Friday at the Spirit of Washington Events Center in Renton.

Sumner athletic director Tim Thomsen, a voting member of the Rep Assembly and the basketball commission for the SPSL 3A, said coaches from that league were unanimous in their support of a shot clock.

“Our coaches see it as being beneficial to the game,” Thomsen said. “A shot clock is used at the (collegiate) level and this will help prepare those players who are going on. And we already have a shot clock for girls basketball.”

Washington becomes the seventh state to use a shot clock in boys basketball.

The Rep Assembly decided on the 35-second shot clock, instead of 30- and 45-second time limits, because that is what is used at the collegiate level.

Mike Colbrese, executive director of the WIAA, said the shot clock amendment had gained momentum in recent weeks.

“It wasn’t up until a few weeks or so ago that I thought it had a chance,” he said.

The Rep Assembly also took steps to keep football games from getting out of hand. A running clock will be used in all regular season and playoff games with margins of 45 points or more after halftime. A similar amendment for basketball games failed.

An amendment to make girls lacrosse a varsity sport was voted down, 41-11 with one abstention.

Two reclassification amendments – one that would combine the 1B and 2B classifications into a singular Class B and another that would create a private school classification – did not even make it to a vote.

Former Peninsula athletic director Karst Brandsma was given the Gareth Giles Award. Brandsma, who now serves as interim superintendent of Everett Public Schools, also helped oversee the 1A and 2A basketball tournaments at the Tacoma Dome and Star Track at Lincoln Bowl.

No decisions were made regarding the format of the basketball state tournament. The WIAA Executive Board will meet in July to review the formats and draw criteria of the state tournaments in all sports.

Colbrese said the board will look at all options to help schools save on travel costs, limit the time students are out of the classroom and increase the interest in the postseason. The WIAA will also try to solve the “riddle” of the Class 3A basketball state tournament, he said.

The event was the WIAA’s top revenue producer when it was played in the Kingdome. But since relocating to the Tacoma Dome, then KeyArena and Hec Edmundsen Pavilion in Seattle, and finally back to Tacoma, attendance and revenue have dwindled.

Attendance at the 1B and 2B hoops tournaments is lagging, too. Before it was split into two classifications, 28,000 spectators attended the Class B state tournament in Spokane. The same number of fans combined to pass through the turnstiles at the 1B and 2B tournaments this year.

The WIAA relies heavily on the revenue from the basketball state tournaments to support its other activities.

“Basketball is our sacred cow,” Colbrese said. “Is the cow getting a little skinnier? It is getting skinnier.”

Colbrese said no specific changes to the basketball, or any sport’s, state tournament have been discussed. A variety of options will be explored in July. Among the possible considerations are adjusting the draw criteria for state events, reducing the number of qualifiers and changing the location of venues. Colbrese noted that Washington is the only state to have a 16-team, double-elimination basketball state tournament.

“Every once in a while,” he said, “it’s good to take a look at yourself.”

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com
blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps

To see what amendments passed, click below:

=> Read more!

I'm at the WIAA Rep Assembly in Renton and the voters have just passed an amendment to implement a shot clock in boys basketball. The vote passed 42-11. A vote to make the shot clock 35 seconds passed 47-5 and one abstention.

Just a reminder, no decision regarding the format of the basketball state tournament was made. The WIAA Executive Board will meet in July to review the formats and draw criteria of the state tournaments in all sports.

You can view a list of all the amendments being voted on here. Here's what has happened so far at the Rep Assembly.

Amendment No. 1 – Grades 9-11 will be used for enrollment counts – FAIL

Amendment No. 2 – Combine 1B and 2B classifications into Class B. WITHDRAWN

Amendment No. 3 – Private schools with enrollments between 50-300 students will be placed into a “private school” classification. MOTION DIED (no vote)

Amendment No. 4 – WIAA Executive Board may appoint a fact finder to investigate alleged violations. PASSED

Amendment No. 5 – Schools must play a varsity half-season to be counted for team allocations. FAILED

Amendment No. 6 – Delete incorrect interpretation or application in appeal of forfeiture. PASSED

Amendment No. 7 – Coach may coach seniors in one practice and one Washington Basketball Coaches Association-sponsored all-state game. PASSED

Amendment No. 8 – Stunt certification required for dance/drill coaches whose squads stunt. PASSED

Amendment No. 9 – All paid and head coaches must annually complete the online rules clinic. FAILED

Amendment No. 10 – Sub-varsity basketball players may play two sub-varsity games a day, eight times a season. PASSED

Amendment No. 11-A – Adds a shot clock for boys basketall. PASSED

Amendment No. 11-B – Determines time allotment for boys basketball shot clock. PASSED

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association's annual Rep Assembly -- it's the group's legislative branch -- will convene today in Renton to vote on a number of amendments.

You can see the complete list of amendments here. Here are some of the most interesting ones:

-- A proposal to implement a shot clock in boys basketball.

-- Two separate proposals for running clocks in football and basketball blowouts.

-- A proposal to put private schools with enrollments between 50-300 students into their own classification.

-- A proposal to eliminate the 1B and 2B classifications and lump the schools into a singular Class B.

-- A proposal to make girls lacrosse a varsity sport.

Tim Thomsen, the athletic director for the Sumner School District, and Annie Wright's Rhondi Adair were selected as the 2009 Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association (WSSAA) state ADs of the year for 2008-09.

The voting was announced at the 37th annual WSSAA conference in Spokane on Tuesday night.

Thomsen, who earlier was named the West Central District AD of the year, has been integral in organizing district and state athletic championships at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

Adair, also the school's tennis coach, represents the Sea-King District.

Other winners from the west side included Sehome High's Colin Cushman (Northwest) and Heritage High's Leta Meyer (Southwest).

Announces 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees

Renton will serve as host site for luncheon

The following people will be inducted into the WIAA Hall of Fame on April 15 at the Spirit of Washington Events Center in Renton.

Athletes
John Olerud
Chris Henderson
Lisa Raschkow Johnson

Fine Arts
Mike Burton

Coaches
Bill Harris
Curt DeHaan

Officials
Dick Eglet
Mike Burton

Administrators
Alli Bennett

Click below to read a biography on each inductee.

=> Read more!

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is officially looking at making changes to the basketball state tournament formats.

The WIAA is looking for ways to trim costs from putting on the events and help defray costs for schools that must travel long distances and pay for meals and lodging for athletes and coaches.

"This is being driven by the costs of putting on a tournament and the costs schools are having to pay by being there for multiple days," said Bellarmine Prep athletic director Ed Ploof, a member of the board.

Three weeks ago, I wrote a column that outlined a plan to reduce the 16-team basketball state tournaments to eight and get rid of the consolation games. This would allow the WIAA to play the 4A and 3A boys and girls tournaments at one site.

My plan -- here's a previous blog post explaining my regional tournament idea, along with a lively discussion -- would address all the things that WIAA and executive board officials say they want to remedy: lower costs to put ontournaments, lower costs to send teams to tournaments and fewer missed days in the classroom.

But would combining tournaments at one location pull in the same amount of money as the current set-up? To make a change feasible, it must. The basketball state tournaments, according to WIAA executive director, are the organization's "cash cow."

What do you want to see become of the basketball state tournaments?

After guiding Auburn Riverside to back-to-back Class 3A state championships, Adam Barrett has resigned his post.

The Ravens have been the premier girls basketball team in the state the last two seasons. Auburn Riverside capped the 2007-08 season with a 48-40 win over Kennedy in the 3A state finals. The Raven’ ended their two-year run in 3A – they will be 4A in the fall – with a combined record of 52-5 and no losses to a 3A team.

Under Barrett, four Auburn Riverside players – Julie Futch (Oregon State), Stephanie Wilber (Arizona State), Katie Grad (Washington State) and German foreign exchange student Ireti Amojo (Washington State) – were recruited to Pacific-10 Conference schools.

The Ravens advanced to the state tournament in all but one of Barrett’s seasons – his first in 2003-04 – coaching the team. They placed sixth in the 2006 4A tourney before claiming back-to-back 3A championships in 2007 and 2008.