Weather Causes Logistical Nightmare for Prep ADs

High school athletic administrators oftentimes face difficult decisions in the form of budgets, personnel or scheduling issues, but winter weather in the state of Washington is putting another challenge in front of local ADs.

HeraldNet of Everett, Wash., reports that snowfall has not only canceled a number of regular-season high school basketball finales, but district tournaments could be postponed as well, presenting an unprecedented challenge for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Typically, the WIAA would require district tournaments to be completed the Saturday prior to the Feb. 22 -23 regionals. That gives Washington districts currently buried in snow until Feb. 16 to complete those games.

Northwest District AD Robert Polk told HeraldNet that his district received a waiver to extend that deadline until Monday, Feb. 18 — but even that could prove difficult if weather continues to force games to be postponed.

The disrupted schedule makes it even more of a challenge to reschedule affected games. There are, after all, a limited number of referees available. Weather can also impact practice schedules, which based on district policy may be allowed on days when school is cancelled, or may not.

HeraldNet reports that even if the district tournaments can be crammed in, some teams could be on the court with no recent game or practice time.

The delays mean that districts could be forced to make decisions regarding which teams advance to state regionals based on something other than the results of district-level tournaments. In such scenarios, district handbooks and tie-breakers would come into play.