Orange County Principal’s Proposal : Tighter Rules on Foreign Students in Sports Sought

Many foreign high school students in Southern California would be ruled ineligible for varsity athletics if a proposal initiated by an Orange County principal is approved by the California Interscholastic Federation on Thursday.

Foreign students living in Southern California with their parents or under one of 11 foreign exchange programs recognized by the federation’s Southern Section would remain eligible under the proposal, originally made by Dennis Evans, principal at Corona del Mar High School.

However, those who have come to the area through any other program or on their own--a group that includes a large population of refugees from Southeast Asia and Central America--and who live with relatives or friends would no longer be able to play varsity sports.

Evans introduced the proposal, which must be approved by the 61 leagues of the California Interscholastic Federation, because he was concerned that some Southern California high schools were becoming training camps for foreign athletes.

However, critics of the proposal believe it would unfairly penalize too many foreign students.

“I have Southeast Asian kids who live with aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends,” said Robert A. Boehme, principal of Westminster High School. “We have a lot of Southeast Asians playing badminton, soccer and tennis. The proposal will run them out of business.”

“I think there’s a personal bias,” Boehme said. “You’re denying a kid the right to participate on varsity sports. That’s discrimination.”

The proposed rule change reads: “A foreign student who is under no exchange program is ineligible for varsity athletics.”

Although the proposal does not specifically address the parental issue, Stan Thomas, a Tustin Unified School District administrator and chairman of the CIF’s Southern Section Rules Committee, said officials understand it to mean that only those foreign students who move here and live with their parents or are here under qualified exchange student programs would be eligible.

A survey of league representatives in the Southern Section showed that the proposal will encounter strong opposition. Twenty-two of the 45 league representatives surveyed said their leagues oppose the proposal. Eleven said they will vote in favor of adopting it as part of the CIF Blue Book. Twelve leagues were undecided.

Critics argue that the proposed rule change is vague, misguided and discriminatory.

Boehme estimated that the majority of the 500 Southeast Asian students who attend Westminster High are refugees who do not live with their parents. He said he is concerned that these students will not be eligible to compete on the varsity level under the proposal.

Miguel Vivanco, varsity soccer coach at Santiago High in Garden Grove, estimated that five of his 20 players--from Mexico, El Salvador and Vietnam--would be ineligible under the proposal. Vivanco coaches players representing eight foreign countries.

“It seems like we’re punishing the masses for a few,” Vivanco said. “If I have players who have gone through the immigration process, are here legally yet don’t live with their parents, why can’t they play? This is not the American way.”

The issue appeared to surface when Marco Baldi, a 6-foot, 11-inch basketball center from Italy, transferred to Irvine’s Woodbridge High for the 1983-84 school term.

Baldi arrived through the Youth Exchange Service (YES) program and lived with an Irvine family for one year. The program is one of 11 recognized by the Southern Section, and Baldi was immediately eligible for play.

At first, Greg Cops, Woodbridge’s principal, said he had no reason to question the motives behind the transfer. During the course of the season, however, Cops’ attitude changed.

He said he began to notice that Baldi’s Italian club team, Simac Milano, made all the decisions for the junior. Finally, the club moved Baldi to New York for his senior season.

“Was this kid sent here for cultural reasons or purely for athletics?” Cops asked. “I think that became pretty obvious when he left us after one year.”

Simac Milano thought he would progress faster at an East Coast school and moved him to Long Island Lutheran High for his senior year. The team directs Baldi’s career and paid his tuition and expenses.

“It was pretty clear that he was sent here for athletic reasons,” Cops said. “We’re not an AAU training ground for the colleges; we’re a high school.”

Cops strongly supports the foreign student proposal.

“I hate to keep a kid from Cambodia off the soccer team. That’s not the intent of the rule. But the issue needs to be addressed, and this is a good start.”

Evans claims that present eligibility requirements for students who are residents of California are unfair in relation to those for foreign students.

“We have strict eligibility standards that control 99% of the student-athletes in our schools,” Evans said. “Basically, we’re giving them (foreign students) rights that we don’t give our own students.”

No other high school athletic program in Southern California has benefited more from the influx of foreign athletes than Mission Viejo High’s swim team.

World-class swimmers such as Ricardo Prado (Brazil), Jesse and Vic Vassallo (Puerto Rico) and Fili Colon (France) have helped the Mission Viejo boys’ team capture 11 consecutive Southern Section team titles.

The foreign swimmers are lured to the area by the Nadadores swim club headquartered in Mission Viejo, and the high school became the beneficiary of the nationally acclaimed program. The majority of the swimmers live with area families through recognized exchange programs.

“I don’t think the proposal will disrupt us here,” said Morris Hawkins, assistant principal in charge of eligibility cases at Mission Viejo. “But I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say our swimming program has benefited from foreign students.”

Tustin Unified’s Thomas agreed that swim programs are among those benefiting most from the foreign students.

“There is a strong belief that foreign students are being recruited here to participate in high school sports,” he said. “We’re seeing it more and more in swimming, soccer and tennis.

“I don’t want to deny any kid the experience of participating in athletics. But we’re in a state of change. Eligibility has become a tough issue, and we need tougher rules.”

Times staff writer Jim McCurdie contributed to this story.