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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 26, 2003

Division II state football tourney approved

• Division II classification added for girls sports

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

As expected, a recommendation for a Division II state football tournament easily passed a vote by the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive board yesterday morning, its final hurdle before becoming official.

The proposal, intended as a one-year trial, was approved by a 4-1 vote of presidents or executives of the state's five leagues (the O'ahu Interscholastic Association casting the dissenting vote) or 61-24 when broken down by the schools represented.

Now comes the hard part — or the easy part — depending on whom you talk to.

A committee with representatives from all five of the state's leagues will meet July 10 to determine the specifics of the tournament — such as how teams will be classified, league representation, distribution of revenue, etc.

OIA executive secretary Dwight Toyama said the tournament already has produced problems since it was approved at the Hawai'i Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference two weeks ago.

"The leagues have already had our workshops, and it's been very frustrating trying to plan our schedules when we don't know what's going to happen with this tournament," Toyama said during the board meeting at Radford High School's OIA office. "Securing venues, planning our playoff format and schedule ... and with us working with Oceanic (cable TV) on their times, that adds urgency. We need to get these things worked out as soon as possible."

HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya, who submitted the proposal, said working out the tournament's details should not be too complicated. He noted that the OIA and Interscholastic League of Honolulu already have classification within their leagues, and the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation and Maui Interscholastic League have distinct big schools and small schools.

Amemiya added that league representation and revenue sharing should not be overly complex. And as for finances, the proposal guarantees that any incurred losses will be covered by Amemiya and his wife, Bonny.

"I've already talked to many people who are interested in financially supporting this," Amemiya said. "We have several corporations interested in sponsorships, and people off the street have offered support. I received a $25 check out of the blue from someone I didn't even know, and I haven't really pushed for donations yet. The response has been phenomenal, and hopefully it will increase now that (the tournament) is a reality."

As for changes in league scheduling, Amemiya said leagues have had to make last-minute changes in the past, and settling the tournament issues on July 10 will give them ample time to make necessary adjustments.

"I think this will have a minimal impact on league playoffs," Amemiya said.

The OIA currently sends its White Conference (second-tier) champion into the overall league playoffs, but that likely will change with the Division II tournament.

Amemiya, who began fighting for classification three years ago, said the recommendation's victory at the HIADA conference and yesterday's vote was a bigger challenge than working out its specifics will be.

"This is the easy part; it was 10 times harder to get the proposal passed," Amemiya said. "The hardest part was fighting the resistance to change."

A new beginning

Now that a Division II state football tournament has been approved, what will it look like? Details will be worked out at a committee meeting July 10 involving representatives from the state's five leagues, but Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya said a model designed by state football coordinator Don "Spud" Botelho will be used as a blueprint. According to that model, here is a glimpse at what the tournament may look like (Amemiya emphasizes that the model "is not set in stone."):

NUMBER OF TEAMS: Four, if the Kaua'i champion is a Division I team, or five if the KIF champ is in Division II. If it's five teams, there will be a play-in game to determine the fourth team in the semifinals.

LEAGUE REPRESENTATION: One team each from the state's five leagues, or four leagues if the Kaua'i champion is in Division I.

CLASSIFICATION: Each league will determine before the season which of its teams will be classified as Division I or Division II.

SITES: Semifinal games will be played at sites to be determined, possibly on the Neighbor Islands. The championship game would likely be played as the opening game of a doubleheader at Aloha Stadium with the Division I title game as the nightcap.

IMPACT ON DIVISION I TOURNEY: If the Kaua'i champion is a Division II team, the KIF's berth in the Division I tournament will be awarded to an at-large team selected by the HHSAA football committee. If the at-large team is the ILH runner-up, the two ILH teams will be placed in the same bracket to avoid an All-ILH final.