KHSAA Lowers Number of Schools Required to Adopt New Sports

April 12, 2011

By Betty Coffman of VYPE MAGAZINE - Greater Louisville


The KHSAA Board of Control voted on Monday to reduce the number of schools required for the KHSAA to sponsor a sports championship from 20 percent to 10 percent. This new threshhold of 10 percent could open the door for the addition of more sports, including archery, lacrosse and bass fishing in the coming years, according to a KHSAA press release.
 
"By lowering the number of schools required to sponsor a championship sport we think it might actually encourage more schools to offer a sport and grow that sport at a faster pace than it otherwise might do," said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. "Any time we can pick up a new group of student-athletes who can compete at the sport they love, while giving them structure and a reason to excel in the classroom with their academic progress monitored, there is really no downside to it."
 
The sport of bowling will have its state championship with KHSAA beginning with the 2011-12 school year. KHSAA survey results indicated more than 80 schools plan to offer the sport next year, with another 45 vowing to offer the sport within five years. Bowling, a winter sport, will begin practice on Oct. 15 and will hold regional tournaments the week of March 11-17, 2012, with the state tournament scheduled for March 23-24, 2012.