State Golf Tournaments Getting Green Light

School officials at the California Interscholastic Federation’s Federated Council meeting Friday grappled with proposed qualifying standards for the state wrestling tournament but moved forward the concept of state championships in sports that do not currently have them.

“If not us, then who? We feel we’re the best ones to do it,” Southern Section Commissioner Jim Staunton said of running state championships.

Toward that end, the council sent a proposal to stage girls’ and boys’ golf state championships next school year to the Federation Council meeting in May at San Francisco. The golf events may be finalized then.

Concerns about equity for wrestlers from the City, San Francisco and Oakland sections were raised over a proposal that would require qualifying tournaments to have at least 20 participating teams. Each of those sections receives an automatic berth to the state tournament for each weight-class champion, but none has more than 11 schools with wrestling programs.

If the proposal is approved, wrestlers from those sections would have to compete in other, larger section meets.

“I’m not against qualifying for state championships,” said Barbara Fiege, City Section director of athletics. “I just think that, rather than singling out wrestling, all sports should be looked at if you’re talking about making a change of this magnitude.”

John Dahlem, the Anaheim Loara High principal who presented the proposal, contended that the issue was strictly wrestling-related and that no athlete would be denied an opportunity to qualifyfor state.

State golf championships for the next two years will be held on an experimental basis. Staunton suggested that the boys’ state tournament take place each spring at sites alternating between Northern and Southern California and that the girls’ competition take place each fall in Southern California because of better weather.

Other items of interest:

* The council will consider in May an amendment to the conditions of CIF membership that would require any gifts, such as money, uniforms or equipment, to remain property of the school and not athletes.

* The council approved modifying a state bylaw that would clarify the difference between foreign-exchange and international student-athletes. Students in an approved exchange program would be immediately eligible for participation.