Comments on: Kahuku girls don’t know where they’re staying

By: Sonofgun

Sonofgun — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 18:48:15 +0000

i think the other issue is why not have the outter island team travel every year.

1. At least they have a better chance of finding lodging.
2. Most of the team slots in states are for Oahu teams anyway, there is less teams to travel.

Also, I am not suggesting the outter island team eat all the costs. Try to spread a cost to each school to help offset for those who travel to Oahu. Now, there could be a question of home court advantage but Oahu is just better prepared to handle the groups. This isn’t rocket science.

By: Paul Honda

Paul Honda — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 03:08:29 +0000

In reply to exasperated. Actually, the football used to run into December. Administrators worked on moving the season up and shortening it the past few years.

By: exasperated

exasperated — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 03:05:53 +0000

Agree with everyone above. Plus this problem: the soccer season for boys, anyway, is two weeks longer than its ever been making it almost impossible for kids who play soccer to really get a full, fair tryout for baseball. Swimmers, basketballers and wrestlers have a hard time with the overlap, too. All because Football dominates the fall schedule. SO many byes and countless playoff games, no other sport can really start until after Thanksgiving. Given that, why create a tournament system that’s makes things even longer?

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 19:08:55 +0000

Up next is High School Boys soccee playoffs in Maui,
I’m sure the boys are gonna face the similar situation, even with lessons learned from the girls…
I think it’s more of a headache to schedule playoffs off island, but that’s my 2cents.
Problem is they only knew Sunday that yes! Ranked 2, 4, 6 travels… so everyone waiting for confirmation, only to book 4 days b4 the tournament? On a busy weekend?
of course hotels going be booked…duh!
So now the boys are guessing, are they gonna keep it the same? Or do we book thinking it might change? Parents what to make sure their child is safe, with basic essentials, of course they going speak up….. this is just plain crazy! ….

By: Paper Crane

Paper Crane — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 12:27:07 +0000

This is just unsafe and unhealthy and it’s not free too and any other way to provide/seek lodging is only uncomfortable/unrest all around especially for the players.

By: Eselkay

Eselkay — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 17:57:43 +0000

What is the function of the HHSAA? I was under the impression that they coordinated the state tournaments for all of the high school sports in Hawaii. If that’s the case, they’ve been using the blueprints straight out of UH Athletics! UH had, among others, it’s “Wonder Blunder.” I guess the HHSAA’s version is the Chris “Chun-der Blunder.” Here’s my take on the “Chun-der Blunder”:
1. No predetermined game site, only a predetermined island. Five out of six teams playing on Hawaii Island are travelling there. Not knowing whether it’s going to be in Hilo or Kona until less than a week before the games causes serious hardships for teams and their families wanting to watch them play. Cost of flights and hotels increase, while its availability decreases. Word on the street is, most of the hotels in Kona are booked leaving teams scrambling to find housing, with some possibly having to sleep in the school gyms. Had this been a preseason tournament, gym sleepovers would be great for team bonding, but for the state tournament, not so much. Also, in case you’ve been living under the rock and not on it, Hawaii Island has 2 airports on opposite sides of an island so big, all of the other islands could fit on it without overlapping. It would’ve been nice to know which one to fly in to.
2. Regionals on different islands, in theory, is a novel idea. Having other islands host, besides Oahu, is a good thing. I understand this is only its second year of existence, and the kinks are, again in theory, being worked out. However, it seems like when one kink is smoothed out, three more pop up. Why not have it on a rotating schedule with each league hosting (ie: MIL 2016, ILH 2017, BIIF 2018, OIA 2019, etc.) With the current format, having a bye as the top seed means nothing when its played over the course of two weeks. Also, in my time coaching and playing, I haven’t encountered any more or less injuries during a four-day tournament format. In addition, the brackets aren’t being played at the same site so coaches can’t watch the teams that they may be playing next. #1 Punahou and #2 Campbell are not in the same bracket, but their first round games are being played in Oahu. Same goes for #3 Baldwin and #4 Konawaena, they are in different brackets playing in Kona.
3. I’m not a fan of consolation games. In my experience, once a team loses, they sort of check out mentally. But if you must have them, the four-day format is the better option.
Possible solutions: a) keep the four-day tournament format combined with a rotating schedule; b) have the schools that are not travelling help to subsidize travel cost (or have teams stay in gyms); c) not that the state needs more Boards and Commissions, but the HHSAA needs help – the AD’s and Principals seem to be running the show. Chun, as the Executive Director, needs to make firm decisions. He may not always be liked for it, but at least he will be respected for it. The “Chun-der Blunder” is not all his fault, many AD’s and Principals probably had more to do with this than he did. However, someone needs to be the Apple or the Jay of Hawaii High School Athletics.