Rule Curbing Club Play Abolished

Members of the Southern Section’s general council voted Thursday to eliminate a rule that prohibited a percentage of high school athletes from competing for a club team during the school year.

Representatives from the 66 leagues in the section voted unanimously to eliminate a rule that prevented any more than 40% of the members of a high school team in the sports of basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball from competing for a club team in the same sport. The elimination of the rule takes effect immediately.

The section still bans athletes from playing on non-scholastic teams during the high school season of a given sport. For example, if a high school baseball player competes for a non-scholastic baseball team during the high school baseball season, he will lose his Southern Section eligibility.

Thursday’s vote came as a result of litigation in Santa Barbara Superior Court in which the parents of players for the Santa Barbara High girls’ volleyball team challenged the rule. A Superior Court judge last month issued a temporary restraining order allowing the athletes to play for a club volleyball team with no restrictions.

Parents requested that the 40% rule be eliminated from section bylaws because there is only one club team in the Santa Barbara area. The section eliminated the 40% rule for soccer five years ago.

The Southern was the only section in the state with the rule.