Swimmers Fail to Get Eligibility Reinstated : Shaw, Vela Lose Appeal to Southern Section

Swimmers Amy Shaw of Capistrano Valley High School and Ernie Vela of Mission Viejo remained ineligible to compete on the high school level Tuesday after appeals to reinstate them were denied by Southern Section officials.

Shaw and Vela were declared ineligible by Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner, last Thursday for competing in an international swim meet without first seeking permission from the Southern Section.

Under Southern Section rules, athletes may not compete in an international event while their high school seasons are in progress without permission.

The athletes’ parents may appeal Tuesday’s decision to the CIF office. However, it must be entered before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, when entries for the South Coast League preliminaries will be accepted.

The South Coast League meet would be the last chance for Shaw and Vela, both world-class swimmers, to qualify for the Southern Section championships. They previously qualified during the season, but those races have been disallowed because of the violation.

Shaw, a senior, holds the American record in the 200-meter breaststroke, and Vela, a senior, has been named to the 1988 Mexican Olympic team.

“We have made in contact with (Shaw’s) parents, and they are deciding whether to appeal to the state,” said Tom Anthony, Capistrano Valley principal. “I am willing to do so if they request it.”

Both Shaw and Vela competed for the Mission Viejo Nadadores in the Canadian Dolphin International swim meet April 15-17. Neither school petitioned the Southern Section for permission.

Thomas said last week that competing in an international meet would give an athlete an advantage in Southern Section competition.

“They (Southern Section officials) kept reiterating that the purpose of the rule is so an athlete could not get an advantage over another,” said Mike Pelton, Mission Viejo coach. “It’s not international competition that makes a kid better, it’s working the extra six-seven hours a day.”

Both have competed for their high school teams since they were freshmen.

“I can understand being punished, because we did break a rule, but the student (Shaw) is being punished to the maximum,” Anthony said. “I could understand not being allowed to swim in a couple meets. This is drastic.”

Thomas had no comment on Tuesday’s appeal.

Pelton said, “We obviously see what the Southern Section’s point is, and we said, ‘Yes, we did not follow the strict letter of the blue book.’ But what we appealed is the severity of the penalty. Ernie is getting the same punishment that a kid who knowingly broke the rules would get.”

Shaw said she had not heard of the rule before.

“I guess it was always taken care of before,” Shaw said.

Said Donna Shaw, her mother: “We have never been involved with the process. We were never aware of the rule. It’s the coaches’ responsibility. But to penalize a kid for something that was a lack of communication, or whatever, is not right.”