CIF to Discuss Alternating Championship Sites

The CIF will discuss alternating State championship events between Northern and Southern California sites, associate commissioner Margaret Davis said Thursday.

The plan stems from concerns by the Northern California schools about moving boys’ and girls’ basketball championships to Southern California every other year.

The schools want at least some of the championship events to be in Northern California every year because of travel costs. The idea will be discussed at the CIF federated council meeting in May.

“We want to be fair to schools and school crowds,” Davis said.

The CIF intends to hold the championship basketball games in The Pond of Anaheim in alternating years beginning in 1997. The games in the north would be held at the Arco Arena in Sacramento or the San Jose Arena.

The State title games are now held in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

Three of the five State championship events are now held in the south.

Track is at Cerritos Gahr High School, girls’ volleyball is at Cal State Fullerton and boys’ and girls’ cross-country is in Fresno, which is technically in the Southern region. Wrestling is in Stockton.

“The Northern schools are worried about the too many championship events and impact of traveling down here,” Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley said. “They are concerned about the cost of travel.”

The track championships would be the easiest to switch to alternating sites, Crowley said.

“In my opinion, we have to take a look at the whole picture,” Crowley said. “The cost of travel being what it is, the situation would be a difficult one if too many sports were held in one region.”