07/24/23 – Corresponding Calendar Reminders, Updates, References

July 24, 2023 2023-2024 News Releases

At its most recent meeting, the Board of Control approved recommended changes to the Spring Corresponding Dates Calendar impacting Tennis, Track and Field, Softball and Baseball. Please understand that this communication will be more lengthy than normal to attempt to address any questions and concerns.

These changes were a result of significant membership feedback addressing the various issues around spring sports and the potential issues faced by the nearly 290 member schools and the association. This represents the first phase of an overall calendar review the Board has begun to start this school year with the second phase being discussed at later meetings to include issues around the integration of three additional championships (boys’ and girls’ lacrosse and boys’ volleyball) into the 2024-25 calendar.

Spring has always presented challenges around end-of-year activities including testing, graduations, recognition ceremonies and so many other schedule conflicts. While at some point, choices will have to be made by some participants, it has long been our desire to optimize the opportunities for all involved.

Keep in mind some of the many data pieces that are potential conflicts to be considered:

• More than sixty of our school districts held graduation ceremonies this past year on the Thursday through Monday period of Memorial Day weekend, so consideration was given to avoiding those dates;
• In addition, conducting championship events on Memorial Day weekend causes conflicts with obtaining the legion of volunteers needed for statewide events;
• The prior adjustment of the calendar (as requested by various constituent  groups within the membership), resulted in spring sports starting extremely early, the majority of which are outdoor-only sports competing in some of our state’s less-than-optimal late-winter weather;
• Alignment with calendars in other states is not required, but is certainly a value to our members when considering that Kentucky has 48 counties that border another state;
• The first weekend in May, with the largest single event in our state that is held annually, impacts a great many schools and school systems;
• The overlap of four spring championships, while championed by some of our membership constituencies, resulted in many volunteers who had previously worked championship and early postseason round events having to make choices and ultimately, creating challenging operational situations;
• These challenges are exacerbated when events are as large as some of the region and state events are in our state, where we traditionally bring larger fields than nearly all other states in the spring sports;
• In addition, playing early created more scheduling conflicts with desired facilities that were strategic initiatives on behalf of the Board and staff to where, unlike some of our fall and winter offerings, whenever it was feasible and available, many of the state’s prime facilities be used;
• The earlier play in some sports (from past years) resulted in facility conflicts, directly opposed to the stated objective of an optimal participation experience for all of the competitors;
• Many challenges and cost logistics existed, particularly from our geographically “spread-out” schools, toward long-duration events with 16 teams (i.e. softball and baseball) and the challenges around housing and other responsibilities, and as such, additional trips without lodging costs have proven beneficial to many.

With those factors in mind, the Board approved revisions to the calendar to begin with 2023-24 and specific impacts as follows:

Tennis

• Will be standard schedules for the individual singles and doubles state championships to begin on the Tuesday following Memorial Day;
• In the calendar, a two-week window will be published for the regional competitions, both team and individual singles and doubles, to be conducted to allow for scheduling flexibility.
• Team Tennis continued implementation:
  • The team tennis championship dates as well as the schedule for team tennis regional play are to be considered at the September Board of Control meeting with the current planned state dates to begin the Monday following the individual singles and doubles tournaments.
  • In addition, the seeded match deadline for team tennis will be considered and published following the September Board of Control meeting.
• The allowable start of practice remains the Monday of the week containing February 15.
• The Monday of Week 1 as published in the corresponding date calendar will be the earliest a competition can be held.
• These dates are detailed on page 6 of the document on the KHSAA website at https://khsaa.org/common_documents/handbook/correspondingdatescomposite.pdf.

Track and Field

• Will continue to start on the Thursday following Memorial Day with one meet per day.
• In all years through 2028, with the exception of 2026, a two-week window will be published for the regional meets to be conducted to allow for scheduling flexibility;
• For 2026, the region window for track and field will be only one week, however, schools in a region may collectively agree to hold the region meet at an earlier date.
• In addition, the track and field combination limit of indoor and outdoor meets will begin 18 weeks prior to the first week of the region meet week as published. 
• The allowable start of practice remains December 1.
• The Monday of Week 1 as published in the corresponding date calendar will be the earliest a competition can be held.
• These dates are detailed on page 7 of the document on the KHSAA website at https://khsaa.org/common_documents/handbook/correspondingdatescomposite.pdf.

Baseball / Softball

• The regional tournament will be calendared to begin on Memorial Day, as was the case for many years prior to the recent changes including many years with a two-week state (sectional or semi-state) format, and are to be completed, weather permitting, by the Sunday following that date.
• The remainder of the postseason calendar will flow from that date with a week for the state first round and quarterfinals and subsequently, the final rounds.
• It should be noted that Memorial Day occurs in either corresponding week 47 or corresponding week 48 of the corresponding date calendar, and this fact resulted in additional considerations.
  • Because of the movement of Memorial Day, baseball and softball teams will again have a “0” week for the years in which Memorial Day occurs during Week 48, allowing an additional early opportunity for scheduling. This option alleviated many issues in the past with the alignment of schedules with other teams in other states on those early season dates.
• The deadline for seeded games remains the Wednesday of the week immediately prior to the district tournament’s corresponding dates.
• The district and regional tournaments will each return to a one-week window, however, districts may agree by majority vote to begin those tournaments earlier than the published dates.
• The allowable number of contests remains at 36, and the season starts remain 9 weeks prior to the first published calendar date for district play, with the exception of the weeks with a Week 0, which allows play 10 weeks prior to the Monday of the published week for district play.
• The allowable start of practice remains the Monday of the week containing February 15.
• The Monday of Week 1 (or Week 0 in those years) as published in the corresponding date calendar will be the earliest a competition can be held.
• These dates are detailed on pages 2 (baseball) and 5 (softball) of the document on the KHSAA website at https://khsaa.org/common_documents/handbook/correspondingdatescomposite.pdf.

As stated, further review and revision will be conducted this year on both the integrated new calendar (to include lacrosse and boys’ volleyball), and a look at the fall events schedule going forward as we try and balance the needs of everyone involved while prioritizing the participation experience of the student-athletes.

The website annual planning calendars will also be updated once thoroughly reviewed at https://khsaa.org/media-reports-stats-pubs/publications/sport-season-calendar/

This post is archived, including any additional clarifications later issued, at https://khsaa.org/07-24-23-corresponding-calendar-reminders-updates-references/