Realignment Proposal Gets Voted Down

A proposal to realign leagues and conferences was rejected unexpectedly by the City Section Interscholastic Athletics Committee this week.

After about 90 minutes of discussion, IAC members voted against the realignment proposal, 12-9, with four voters abstaining.

The City’s 49 high schools and 13 magnet schools therefore might stay in the same alignments for at least the 1998-99 season.

“I was surprised [it wasn’t approved] based on the amount of conversation from last October until now,” Commissioner Barbara Fiege said. “Some schools did have a problem with it, but the majority of schools did not.”

Because it was the first meeting of the school year, some of the members who abstained had not spoken with everyone they represented and were uncomfortable taking a stand, Fiege said.

Members of IAC, the governing body of the City Section, represent different factions of administrators, coaches and community groups. IAC will not take up the subject again until its next scheduled meeting, Oct. 27.

City Section officials are seeking to change the current alignment--six two-league conferences--which has caused more problems than it has solved in the past 10 years. For example, in the past some conferences were all in one division while others were split into 4-A and 3-A leagues.

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Football players would be wise to heed the lesson learned by the Granada Hills Kennedy defensive back who was penalized for wearing illegal jewelry and probably cost his team a victory against Marshall last Friday.

With the score tied, 27-27, late in the fourth quarter and Kennedy facing a fourth down at the Marshall five-yard line, Kennedy called timeout to prepare for a field goal.

The Kennedy player took off his helmet to take a drink of water, revealing an earring in his pierced ear. Kennedy was penalized 15 yards and never got off the field-goal attempt because of a bad snap. Marshall marched down the field for a touchdown and a 34-27 victory.

“It was horrible timing but it’s in the rule book,” Kennedy Coach Bob Francola said. “We’re going to have to re-emphasize what we can and can’t wear.”