PRIOR ISSUES OF NEWS & LEAGUE NOTES

December 20, 2006 - Wachovia Cup Fall Standings Announced

December 4, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ken Tilley

Division 6 VHSL State Football Final Moves North

Charlottesville, VA--In a rare change of venues, the VHSL Division 6 State Football Championship between Chantilly and Osbourn High Schools will be played at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Freedom High School in Woodbridge. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Darling Stadium in Hampton.

Chantilly and Osbourn are less than 15 miles apart, and they are both more than 150 miles from Hampton. Chantilly administrators asked if the game could be moved closer to the competing schools, and League staff spent Monday morning and much of the afternoon exploring alternatives.

"I can't remember a site for a state football final being moved for reasons other than weather," said VHSL Executive Director Ken Tilley. "However, all variables fell into place to allow the switch to occur.

"We are indebted to Hampton City Public Schools personnel and local officials who were extremely cooperative in agreeing to allow the game to be moved. We also are fortunate that Freedom High School, an acceptable site closer to the competing schools, was available and was willing to host the game. Finally, it was necessary to make a decision quickly so that travel plans and game logistics could be adjusted."

December 15, 2004 -- Wachovia Cup athletic standings after fall season

VHSL Tennis Season Alignment

December 4, 2003

Charlottesville -- The VHSL Executive Committee voted Wednesday to align tennis playoff seasons in the fall for all girls and in the spring for all boys, beginning with the 2004-05 school year.

The decision resolved the final issue to be addressed under the 2000 court decision requiring that sports playoff seasons in basketball, volleyball and tennis be aligned for Group A, AA and AAA girls by the 2004-05 school year.

Decisions were made earlier to align all girls volleyball seasons in the fall and basketball in the winter to coincide with the most common scheduling nationwide. Those changes took place this year.

Originally, girls and boys tennis seasons for all groups were to be aligned in the spring, but the Executive Committee voted last December to put that decision on hold for one year to accommodate a survey of member schools to collect relevant tennis information and to determine school preferences.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Executive Committee reviewed results of that survey and ultimately decided by a vote of 13-10 that student athletes in Virginia were best served by scheduling separate tennis seasons for girls and boys.

Under the court ruling, all girls must play in the same season but girls do not necessarily have to play in the same season as boys.

The split seasons will permit more boys and girls to participate in the sport, ease pressure on tennis facilities and permit one person to coach both teams. Approximately 1,100 girls were going to have to change seasons whether Group AAA moved to the spring or Groups A and AA moved to the fall.

The other major issue at the meeting was confusion over football schedules for 2004-05. Some schools had signed contracts based on comparable dates to those this year, beginning Aug. 27, rather than comparable playing weeks as approved by the Executive Committee, beginning Sept. 3. That resulted in some schools booking two games for the same date.

The Executive Committee ruled that unless the schools can work out a mutually agreeable schedule, they must abide by the comparable dates the committee approved last year.

A more complete summary of actions taken by the Executive Committee will be available on the VHSL website http://www.vhsl.org/note.htm under "Agenda/Minutes" on Thursday.