BRIEFLY : Drug-Testing Proposals Considered in Conejo

Two proposals for drug testing of interscholastic athletic teams will be considered by the Conejo Valley Unified School District at the next meeting of the Board of Education on Sept. 24.

Both proposals would be voluntary, and test results would be given to the families of tested athletes, according to Carolina Erie, director of secondary education in the district. The school would have no knowledge of the test results, Erie said.

No time has been set for beginning the proposed testing programs, Erie said.

“One thing that hasn’t been checked yet is whether we could start this season if we put in one of these programs,” Erie said. “But I don’t think it would be a problem. Both would be strictly voluntary.”

Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park are the high schools in the Conejo district.

One program being considered by the board is similar to one already in place at Banning High, Erie said. Under the plan, students would volunteer to be tested and then randomly selected on a weekly basis.

The other program would include all members of interscholastic teams with random selection. Erie said the proposal was still being explored by legal counsel, however, because including the entire team might be considered mandatory rather than voluntary.

Under either plan, students’ eligibility would not be affected because the school would not get the test results, Erie said.

Royal High Is Site of Volleyball Tournament

For the past two years, the Royal High girls volleyball team has been a perfect host at its own tournament. It stuck around until the end, then lost in the championship match.

This year, Highlander Coach Bob Ferguson hopes to change that scenario this morning at Royal High at the tournament, which is sponsored by the Simi Valley Institute of Sports Medicine.

Fifteen teams will compete in the one-day tournament. The Royal High gymnasium will be separated into three courts for the event.

Ferguson, for one, likes the tournament format.

“Tournaments give you a chance to view all your players,” he said. “I think that’s why coaches like them. They can see the players in game situations, and there are a lot of games in a short period of time.

“That’s what we’re looking for. We have our lineup set finally, and now we’ll see how it works out. It took a lot of time for us to get it set how we wanted. We’re hoping it works.”

Royal’s week-old starting lineup will get a big test in its opening match against Buena, one of the top teams in the tournament, according to Ferguson.