Southern Section to Discuss Controversial Transfer Proposal

The Southern Section council will discuss for the first time today a controversial proposal that would force transfers to sit out varsity athletic competition for one school year unless they exercise a bona fide change of address.

The proposal, submitted by Downey Warren High Principal Earl Haugen, could not face a vote until the council’s April 25 meeting at the earliest.

The council will continue to discuss at its regular meeting the implementation of a statewide pre-enrollment contact form that would require school officials to certify that no one connected with their booster clubs or athletic department had contact with prospective transfers. The form would have to be signed by officials at the former school and the new school, and by the transferring student and his parents.

The council will vote on a proposal that would increase the number of divisions in girls’ water polo from five to six to give the 207 girls’ teams an equal number of championships as the 209 boys’ teams.

The council will also vote on a proposal that would form playoff groupings based on competitive equity in sports not under the guidelines of enrollment-based divisions for state playoffs. The affected sports would be baseball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, softball, boys’ volleyball, boys’ and girls’ tennis and boys’ and girls’ swimming.

Under the proposal, all teams from one league would compete in the same playoff division.