Truckee, North Tahoe Move to California Interscholastic Federation Worries Parents

There's plenty of unease with the decision of Tahoe Truckee Unified School District to withdraw Truckee and North Tahoe high schools from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to compete in the California Interscholastic Federation, but it's not transgender participation that's foremost on parents' minds.

As reported by the Reno Gazette Journal, district superintendent Kristen Kramer announced the NIAA-to-CIF switch May 2, citing the need to comply with California state law after the NIAA voted in April to ban transgender girls from playing girls' sports.

Kramer sent an email to families in the district May 5 reiterating they will be leaving the NIAA and joining the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section for athletics starting in fall 2025.

"We have received questions about the lack of opportunity for community input, and we understand the desire to provide input on significant decisions," Kramer wrote. "However, in this instance, the district's obligation to comply with California state law, particularly regarding non-discrimination and student rights, presented a situation with no latitude for alternative action.

"Because the NIAA's rules conflicted with California law, we had a clear legal duty to switch to CIF, a necessary step in ensuring we are fulfilling our fundamental responsibilities as a California school district."

The Gazette Journal spoike to several parents ahead of a scheduled TTUSD school board meeting Wednesday. A major concern is the fact that, due to a difference in sports scheduling between the two governing bodies, students now forced to compete within the CIF will not be able to participate in both soccer and winter sports.

"Snowfall around Truckee and North Tahoe means there is nowhere to play or practice soccer in the winter when the fields are covered in snow," Jim Krajewski of the Gazette Journal wrote.

Stefanie Scapini, whose children play soccer and football at Truckee, said soccer at Truckee will disappear because of a lack of players, and said legal action is a likely option if the move goes forward.

"We vote them [the school board] in to represent us, for the kids, and they didn't even consult any of the parents, any of the children, any of the coaches, before they made this decision," Scapini told the Gazette Journal. "If they want to play that part of they're afraid of a lawsuit, well then, you're going to have one coming. They're not putting the kids first."

Spencer Ewing, whose son is on North Tahoe's football, baseball and ski teams, said moving to the CIF means every away game will be at least two to four hours away, assuming the roads are even passable.

"The reason we're in the NIAA is the logistics of traveling to competition. This isn't for the betterment of the students, this decision," Ewing told the Gazette Journal. "I don't know if it's some political thing they're trying to make a point on. Using our kids as pawns in this game is really unacceptable. A lot of people are really upset about this."

Ewing said the added travel time would likely require overnight stays on the road and missing class time.

Rob Kittrell, NIAA's Class 3A commissioner, said most sports schedules for the 2025-26 school year are almost finalized and will need a lot of adjustments, Krajewski reported.

"Soccer is going to be a complete nightmare, because a lot of our soccer [schedules] are based around football, not to mention we will only have a nine-team boys league," Kittrell told the Gazette Journal. "There's some things we will really have to be creative with when it comes to soccer and travel costs."