For 2021 season, girls golf state tournament dates pushed back to June
The girls golf state championships will move into June for the spring 2021 spring season, following a vote of CHSAA’s Legislative Council on Friday.
The change passed along with the rest of the golf report during the virtual meeting, which brings together 77 representatives of schools, leagues and associations. And it did so overwhelmingly, with 97 percent approval.
“I think if we can do this in June, we can create a better situation for the girls,” said CHSAA association commissioner Tom Robinson, who oversees golf.
The change also moves regionals back one week, to May 24-26. The state tournaments will be held June 1-2, 2021. Typically, the state championships are held around the final week in May.
There are three main reasons for the change in dates:
Primarily, it moves the postseason away from traditional AP and IB testing dates. It also avoids many scheduled graduations of schools. And it should — fingers crossed — help alleviate some issues the tournaments have faced with weather over recent seasons.
“We agreed that there were issues with the spring, of course, with weather,” Robinson said. “But that was something we had no control over. But we did have control over moving scheduled regional and state events off of AP and IB events. For girls, that seems to be a bigger factor than the boys.
“We’ve always had to make choices around those dates,” Robinson continued. “As well as the thing that happens year-in and year-out, and that’s trying to negotiate when you’re going to play, or if you’re going to attend your graduation ceremony.
“Those are the main issues, and because we are CHSAA and we are an education-based Association, we should make considerations for at least hose kind of things,” he added. “I applaud the membership for supporting these changes.”
As for weather, there is of course no guarantee that moisture will stay away from championship rounds, but average rainfall trends indicate that May is often wetter than June in Colorado. The 2019 state tournaments were limited to one round in all three classes, and the same thing happened to 5A in 2015. Many other rounds, such as 2014’s 5A tourney, have been interrupted but ultimately completed.
“I think in the end, we will have more good days than bad by having it the first week in June,” Robinson said. “We can’t predict bad weather, even in the fall, but I think this increases our chances of having a two-day event. And it gives options for the girls to be able to play without issue.”
The specific 2021 championship sites have not yet been solidified. Robinson is working with various courses to secure those dates, and is leaning toward municipal courses so that everyone can have equal access to practice rounds.
Overall, he sees the move as a step forward for the girls.
“All around, it’s a positive message to the girls,” Robinson said.
