11/16/16 – Board of Control Extends Sponsorship of Field Hockey For Three Years

November 16, 2016 2016-2017 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 2016

On Wednesday, the Board of Control approved a recommendation from staff to continue the sponsorship of Field Hockey through the 2019 state championship. With Field Hockey just completing its third season as a KHSAA-sponsored sport in October, discussion during the course of the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting at the KHSAA Offices stressed the importance of the field hockey schools and coaches to make progress in expanding the geographic reach of the sport, as that factor will be considered when the sport is re-evaluated in 2019 for further continuation. In addition to its continued sponsorship of Field Hockey, the Board will consider recommendations from staff during its January meeting regarding potential adjustments to the sport’s alignment and state championship format.

The Board also made a determination on Wednesday regarding the future alignment of the yet-to-be-named Fayette County High School, which will open during the 2017-18 academic year. Those placements are as follows:

Archery, Bowling, Girls’ Golf and Wrestling – Region 7
Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball – District 42
Bass Fishing – Region 2
Boys’ Golf – Region 9
Competitive Cheer and Tennis – Region 11
Cross Country / Track & Field – Class 3A, Region 6
Football – Class 6A, District 7
Swimming and Diving – Region 8

In addition, the Board took action on two recommendations involving softball, instructing staff to solicit feedback from the membership to determine its preference on the future format of the state softball championship and the use of the international tiebreaker rule. During the course of its 2015-16 meeting, members in attendance of the Softball Advisory Committee recommended transitioning to a single-elimination format at the state tournament, as opposed to the current double elimination model. The membership will also be asked to weigh-in on the use of the international tiebreaker rule, which has long been required to be used in regular season contests but has been met with resistance from a portion of coaches in postseason play.

In other action Wednesday, the Board:

• Heard a status report on the continued development and implementation process of a Dance Championship in 2017-18, as well as a report on a possible realignment in the sport-activity of Bass Fishing due to a growth in the number of participating schools.
• Approved the submission of a referendum to the membership relative to Open Gym and play restrictions during the offseason, as outlined in Bylaw 23 that were discussed at the Annual Meeting.
• Discussed possible future calendar adjustments for the state championships in Cross Country, Field Hockey and Volleyball to resolve schedule conflicts.

-KHSAA-

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 278 member schools both public and private. The KHSAA sanctions 43 state championships in 13 sports and 4 sport-activities, licenses and trains over 4,000 officials, provides catastrophic insurance for its more than 70,000 member school student-athletes, as well as overseeing coaching education and sports safety programs.