Among the items presented at the Feb. 6 Edmonds School Board meeting was a review of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s (WIAA) proposed amendments for 2024.

The amendments focus on behavior at student competitions and the inclusion of new sports, including esports.

The WIAA was formed in 1905 to create equitable playing conditions between high school sports teams in Washington. The association consists of nearly 800 member high schools and middle/junior high schools, both public and private, 

Board Vice President Director Deborah Kilgore, who serves as the board’s WIAA representative,  explained that behavior has been an issue this past school year. The amendment would require a student-athlete ejected from a game to take online training to learn better sports conduct.

But student-athletes aren’t the only ones who exhibit negative behavior.

“We also have the trouble of coaches getting ejected from games,” Kilgore said.

She explained that the district has moved away from a teacher-coach model, and sometimes the schools must hire coaches from outside of the district, and “they don’t know necessarily the way that we schools do business.” 

Coaches who are ejected would also require to complete online training on modeling good behavior.

School Board Director Keith Smith said he officiates three sports in the district and has experienced bad behavior from players, parents and coaches. He further stated that bad sportsmanship is taught from the top down and feels it’s important that adults need to be held accountable.

Further, he said some coaches who are hired from outside the district behave differently than those who are teachers and see the school administrator daily.

Another WIAA draft amendment proposes to add girls flag football, girls badminton and esports to the list of WIAA-sanctioned competitions . 

Kilgore explained that when it comes to adding new sports, athletic directors tend to oppose the idea while school district superintendents are in favor.

She explained that the athletic directors are looking at the sports schedules and the competing programs and asking, “Is this going to take some of our players away from some of the other sports?”

There were also other concerns. The addition of esports requires investing in suitable computers for the players, reliable and fast internet speed, and a game host server. A new athletic program could require pads, a large field and an available medical professional.

But what about the students who can’t physically compete in an athletic sport, aren’t interested in the sports schools typically offer, or possibly want to compete in a coed sport with their friends?

“Esports get to a different kind of kid than some of the regular athletic sports, and adding more girls’ sports, I think, is great,” Director Nancy Katims said. “So, I’m trying to see a downside because I would be very much in favor of it unless there were an obvious downside, which I don’t see.”

There are several pros and cons for the district to examine. Though athletic sports require large amounts of room, schedules can be rotated to accommodate teams and matches. On the other hand, esports saves space for practice and competitions, as they occur in a virtual arena.

Unlike its fellow game-turned-sport, chess, esports would require dedicating physical space to secure the gaming computers, just as one would secure expensive physical sports equipment.

To see the proposed WIAA amendments, click here.

In other business, the directors approved board policy revisions on the qualification of attendance and placement after holding a second reading during the Feb. 6 meeting.

The current language reads, “An early entrance candidate for kindergarten or first grade is defined as a child whose fifth birthday (kinder), or sixth birthday (first) falls between (and includes) September 1 and December 31.” 

The approved change moves the eligible timeframe to run from Dec. 31 to Oct. 31. The change would ensure admission consistency with neighboring districts and reduce administrative costs. In five years of data, only one student with a birthday between Oct. 31 and Dec. 31 has successfully tested as an early entrance candidate

The directors also passed the resolutions for emergency declarations for repairs at Meadowdale Elementary School and the former Alderwood Middle School. The schools had suffered broken water pipes during a cold snap in early January.

The next school board meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the Educational Services Center, 20420 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood. 

You can watch the meeting online by clicking here.

To view the meeting agenda, click here.

— By Rick Sinnett