Legislative Council notebook: Girls lacrosse adds a second classification

Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com

DENVER — Girls lacrosse will add a second classification, following a vote of CHSAA’s Legislative Council on Wednesday.

A proposal, jointly submitted by the Western Slope and Pikes Peak leagues, passed by a majority vote to split the sport’s 58 teams into 5A and 4A classifications.

The move mirrors a split of classes by boys lacrosse ahead of the 2013 season.

Now, the decision on how to split the teams, notably the cut line for enrollment, will need to be decided.

Additionally, the lacrosse committee will need to figure out how to handle its semifinals and championships. Currently, with one class, girls lacrosse holds both rounds at the University of Denver.

New seeding criteria for football

Dustin Price/dustinpricephotography.com

The football committee will use a new approach towards seeding the 5A-1A playoffs starting with the 2019 season.

A complete breakdown of how it will work is available here, but here are the basics:

• Four data points (the RPI, MaxPreps rankings, Packard rankings, and the CHSAANow coaches poll) will be equally weighted.
• Teams will be ranked according to that data, and seeded accordingly.
• They may be moved one spot based upon head-to-head, and seeds may also be adjusted (Nos. 9-16 in 4A-1A, and Nos. 17-24 in 5A) for geography and to avoid league matchups.

Additionally, with the approval of the football committee report, the 6-man football title game will be Nov. 23 this year, moving it up one week and returning it to a date it had been.

Board of Directors

• Troy Baker will be CHSAA’s new president.
• Rick Macias, an at large member, is moving off the board. His replacement has not yet been named.
• Rick Mondt (representing District 3) will be replaced by Steve Longwell, Eaton athletic director.
• Angie Sanders (representing District 4) will be replaced by Nate Smith, Englewood athletic director.
• Jim Lucas (representing CASE) will be replaced by Ryan West, Englewood principal.

Notables:

• Three schools were officially approved for new membership: Addenbrooke Classical Academy (Lakewood), Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy (Colorado Springs), and DSST: Conservatory Green (Denver).
• A proposal that would have created a 6A classification in football was voted down.
• Soccer will have a game minimum requirement in order to make the 2A playoffs: 12 games, 10 of which must be against NFHS schools.
• Soccer is changing its officiating system to a diagonal system of control (one center ref, and two assistants), which is pretty much standard across the board in the sport at all levels.
• Softball will use a double bag at first base. The sport has also changed its mercy rule, and games will now end if a team is up by: 15 runs after 3 innings, 12 after 4, or 10 after 5.
• Swimmers will now be required to compete in a minimum of six high school meets to qualify for the state competition.
• Volleyball’s default regional day will be a Saturday, if the schools can’t agree. Also, the new tri-color volleyball (red, white and blue) was approved to be used during the postseason.
• A school’s prior year out-of-building student percentage on rosters can be used as part of the criteria to classify schools going forward.
• Co-op sports programs between schools will now be on a two-year basis, changing from the current one-year period.
• Sunday competition, out of season, will be allowed for teams and participants at national events, if sponsored by the NFHS and/or approved by the CHSAA office.
• The 2019 state cross country championship will be Oct. 26.
• Field hockey created a mercy rule for regular season play: A five-goal differential would create a running clock; a six-goal differential causes the winning team to remove a player; a seven-goal differential caused the same team to remove a second play; an eight-goal differential causes the removal of a third player. If the losing team cuts into the margin after a player has been removed, a team may substitute a player back in.