League shuffle happening for South Sound high schools. Here’s what we know
Dominoes have started to fall for high school sports leagues in the South Sound, as a shift to hyper-local leagues within individual counties has become the clear path forward for the 2020-21 school year in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Olympia High School, a member of the Class 4A South Puget Sound League, is moving to the Class 3A South Sound Conference league as an interim member, which will be dubbed the “SSC South.”
Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools, part of the South Sound Conference, will be joining the Class 4A South Puget Sound League, which had an open spot vacated by Olympia. Central Kitsap, part of the 3A SSC, and South Kitsap (4A SPSL) are still considering options, but all signs point to a move to a league within Kitsap County.
Keeping leagues within single counties eliminates a layer of confusion for local high school athletic directors, who are desperate to get kids back onto fields and courts.. The state’s new ‘Healthy Washington’ plan groups counties together to assess their performance with covid metrics. Certain schools and counties could be cleared to play before others, depending on their progress with the newly established metrics.
“We’re just trying to make decisions based on the information we have to do what’s best for our kids,” said Olympia athletic director Bob Kickner. “We just think this is a whole lot less complicated if we don’t have to leave our county borders.”
It also should streamline the process of communicating with local medical authorities. The “SSC South” will communicate with the Thurston County Health Department, rather than waiting from guidance from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
While Kicker noted that the league shuffling is only intended for the WIAA’s “Season 1,” which includes traditional fall sports and will begin on Feb. 1, it’s hard to imagine the newly-formed leagues wouldn’t simply ride it out through the end of the 2021 school years if competitions are taking place and kids are playing.
The newly-formed, temporary conferences will tentatively look like this:
CLASS 4A SOUTH PUGET SOUND LEAGUE
NORTH
Bellarmine Prep
Curtis
Gig Harbor (3A)
Peninsula (3A)
Sumner
SOUTH
Bethel
Emerald Ridge
Graham-Kapowsin
Puyallup
Rogers
CLASS 3A SOUTH SOUND CONFERENCE “SOUTH”
Olympia (4A)
Timberline
Yelm
Capital
North Thurston
River Ridge
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 11:38 AM with the headline "League shuffle happening for South Sound high schools. Here’s what we know."
