WIAA Hinders Athlete Moves to Play for Club Coaches

The Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association recently passed a rule intended to decrease the number of high school students transferring for athletic purposes.

The WIAA Representative Assembly announced seven amendments Monday, including rule 18.11.5, which will make athletes ineligible if they transfer to a high school team coached by their club team coach. The amendment reads “A student is not varsity eligible if they transfer to a school after participating on a non-school team if one or more of the high school coaches were involved, and/or after receiving instruction of training, including weight training and conditioning, from a person affiliated with another school to which the student transfers.”

The transfer amendment, which is scheduled to go into effect next school year, received 25 supporting votes and 10 opposing.

According to The Columbian, a similar amendment was rejected by the WIAA in 2018. It deferred from the current rule by including an athlete’s club coaches and teammates, rather than just coaches.

“A huge growing issue that we are seeing (in Clark County) is the amount of high school coaches who are doubling as athletic trainers, 7-on-7 coaches, whatever it is, the skill development outside of (the school program),” Prairie athletic Jason Castro said when presenting the proposal to the WIAA Winter Coalition in January. “And one of the byproducts of doing both is the inevitable transfer of students.”