The BIIF will hit the pause button and get everybody on board before making any decisions regarding the Department of Education’s mandated COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly whether the private schools will be allowed to remain practicing when the public schools can’t while six fall sports seasons are delayed.
BIIF administrators have extended the courtesy to the private schools, Christian Liberty, Kamehameha, St. Joseph, Makua Lani, Parker and Hawaii Prep, to discuss matters after the DOE instituted a new start date, Sept. 24.
During a statewide sports pause in 2001 because of a teachers’ strike, there was acrimony after the BIIF’s public schools weren’t allowed to practice but the private schools went ahead with workouts. After Wednesday’s DOE announcement, the athletic directors at Kamehameha and HPA told the Tribune-Herald their programs were continuing with practices.
BIIF president and Keaau High principal Dean Cevallos is hoping everyone rows in the same direction this time around and no school causes any unnecessary waves.
“Everything rolls down to the DOE,” he said. “We have a mixed league (private and public schools) and have to come together. We’re still in discussions. There are no decisions yet. We want to give everybody time to talk. We’re governed by the DOE, the others by boards or the diocese, then we’ll make a decision and move forward.
“Not everybody was there. I’ll take their emails and responses and wait for their decisions and whatever it is we’ll move forward.”
No new meeting date was set. But Cevallos emphasized the main objective of Friday’s meeting.
“Overall, we want to make it safe for kids,” he said. “The number of triple-digits cases are not going down. The utmost thing is we’ve got to be safe. We want to do masking and sanitizing. We want to make it safe for kids on campus because we don’t want a spread and have everything shut down.”
The fall sports are football, girls volleyball, air riflery, bowling, cross-country and cheerleading.
Hawaii Prep is scheduled to host the state cross-country championships Oct. 30.
During the winter season, Kamehameha is set to host the state swimming and diving championships Feb. 11-12, 2022.
During the spring season, the BIIF will host, for the second time, the state Division II baseball tournament May 12-14, 2022.