Yes, basketball courts are finally in session in Whatcom and Skagit Counties, which encompass the Northwest Conference. Instead of splitting the season at New Year’s, this basketball season will end the school year. It’s a little off, but it’s here.

Yes, basketball courts are finally in session in Whatcom and Skagit Counties, which encompass the Northwest Conference. Instead of splitting the season at New Year’s, this basketball season will end the school year. It’s a little off, but it’s here.

And, with no post-season, we really need to make a big deal out of what we do have. On Monday night, the first full night of action, there is a game that, in a normal season, may be standing room only. Fortunately, I will have the honor of attending.

On Monday, Blaine travels to Lynden Christian. Both teams have plenty of leftovers from the end of the 2019-20 season, and I think are not only the top two 1A teams in the NWC, but probably top 10 in 1A state, real or mythical.

Disclaimer: Before we go any further, this is based on rosters from 14 months ago, so in speaking of any team’s returning players from anywhere around the state, there are many reasons why those rosters may not be what we think they will be.

This game gives me reason for excitement, even though it will tip off on May 17! The Lyncs will have a new head coach, in long time assistant, Tim Zylstra. He would (should) have an experienced group to build around in big guys, Logan Dykstra and Andrew Hommes. Seniors Shale Whittern and Cole Moorlag offer experience and athleticism, along with exciting sophomore, Tyler Sipma.

The Borderites finished 11-11 as a 2A last season, and will match the LC lineup with experienced players such as Kyle Turnberg, Josh Russ, Cole Thomas, Jaxon Kortlever, and Scott Baldwin.

My apologies if any of these are incorrect. See “Disclaimer” above.

Lynden would have been a leading pick to win the 2A state tournament in 2021. They return a big part of their roster from 2020. “Big” would also be fitting in describing returning 6-11 senior center, Liam Hanenburg.

Another early favorite is Ferndale. They have the stuff to challenge for a spot at the top of the NWC, with the one-two punch of junior, Jazen Guillory, and sophomore, Isaiah Carlson, and a young, but experienced roster.

Most of the leagues around the state are using a similar time frame as the NWC for the 2021 basketball season, although several have had a week or two head start. I will try to keep up with the 1A’s and 2A’s as much as I can.

The South Puget Sound 4A League, along with the Pierce County 3A, began their seasons in an “outdoor” venue last week. A large structure at the Puyallup Fairgrounds was dolled up with a new asphalt floor and 3 courts to accommodate Pierce County being in Covid Phase-2, which did not allow indoor sports. It was similar to a tent restaurant, but bigger and with basketball courts instead of tables. It was quite an impressive project that came about in a 14-day period. Now that their county rules have been relaxed, they can go back to hosting games in their gyms beginning this week. You can read about the whole process in the Tacoma News Tribune.

By the way, for those of you scoring at home, since there was no State Tournament in 2021, my streak of 36 straight is still alive and well. Just delayed. The 2022 State Tournaments will be held March 2-5, according to the WIAA website. The 1A and 2A classifications will again be in the Yakima Valley SunDome, which would seem to mean that we will have another year of the same format. Thank you.

If all goes well, and nothing in the last 14 months has, I will have a pile of words out every Sunday. Stay tuned.

Since the early cancellation of the 2020 school year and its spring sports season, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has been working feverishly to come up with an activity plan for the 2020-21 school year. That plan was released Tuesday, July 21. And while it is great to look at and imagine future scenarios, any part of it can be changed, or eliminated, depending on the path of the Covid-19 virus.

Since the early cancellation of the 2020 school year and its spring sports season, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has been working feverishly to come up with an activity plan for the 2020-21 school year. That plan was released Tuesday, July 21. And while it is great to look at and imagine future scenarios, any part of it can be changed, or eliminated, depending on the path of the Covid-19 virus.

The plan can be viewed as more of an outline. The ability to pull off the upcoming athletic seasons depends on the State’s Health Department’s okay to move forward, and the status of counties as to their particular phase according to the states Safe Start Plan. Counties must be in Phase 3 for teams to participate.

The WIAA plan includes four sports seasons, instead of the usual three. Seasons that begin in January and run through the end of the school year, are tightly packed together, with slight overlaps. Each sport will have a one-week practice period, with games aloud to start at the end of the second week. Football will have a two-week practice period.

Season 1 will begin with practices on September 7. The sports in Season 1 are Cross Country, Slowpitch Softball, Girls Swim & Dive, and Golf and Tennis alternative seasons. Season 1 will run into early November.

Regarding Season 1, here is a quote from the WIAA: “In order for Season 1 to be offered, certain benchmarks will need to be met. This criteria will be determined by the WIAA Executive Board on July 28^th. Should criteria not be met, Season 1 sports will be moved to Season 3.”

Season 2 will consist of the normal winter sports. Basketball, Wrestling, Boys Swim & Dive, Gymnastics, and Cheerleading. These sports would begin on January 4 and run through the first week of March.

There is a gap after Season 1 of seven weeks, through the end of December. This was purposely set in case of a late fall virus or seasonal flu problem. If that is not the case, it may be possible for Season 2 sports to be lengthened slightly.

Season 3 will have the rest of the normal fall sports. Football, Volleyball, Girls Soccer, and 1B/2B Boys Soccer will start during the first week of March and run through May 2.

Season 4 will have the regular spring sports. Baseball, Fastpitch Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Golf, Boys Soccer, and Dance & Drill. The timeline for Season 4 is from the last week of April to the end of June.

Aside from this schedule, many other factors will be addressed. The shortening of the seasons may mean fewer games. In many sports, like basketball, teams have a maximum of 20 games. That may be too many to play in about a 5 ½ week season. It has yet to be determined if teams will be aloud to schedule 20 games, or if the maximum number of games will be reduced.

The Northwest Conference will have 16 schools beginning this year, with the addition of Oak Harbor, and the return of Mt. Vernon. That means 15 league games. This also puts non-league games into question, as there may not be enough time, or officials, to cover everything.

It will be up to the local leagues and districts to create a league schedule, and district tournament that will fill WIAA state allocations, in what could also be a very shortened post-season for all sports.

While there is very little wiggle room for four sports seasons in a school year, it was done to help athletes to not have to choose between two sports that they normally participate in. If there were still three seasons, and football was moved to spring, those who also played baseball or participated in Track & Field or Boys Soccer, would have a choice to make between sports. The same is true for girls who play volleyball or soccer, having to choose between spring sports of tennis for fastpitch, for example.

This is the outline, which as stated, could be changed at any moment. For the time being, while awkward, it removes some of the pressure of wondering and hoping if sports can begin in the fall. It also gives a better possibility of having fans in the stands when things do resume.

Again, more information on fall sports, as they are now, will be given by the WIAA on July 28.

~ Ted House

The All-Northwest Conference Teams for Volleyball, Girls Soccer, Cross Country, Boys Tennis, and Girls Swim & Dive have been posted on their respective sport pages.

The All-NWC Football teams will be published around the end of the state playoffs.

The All-Northwest Conference Teams for Volleyball, Girls Soccer, Cross Country, Boys Tennis, and Girls Swim & Dive have been posted on their respective sport pages.

The All-NWC Football teams will be published around the end of the state playoffs.

This week will mark the end of the regular season for 2A and 3A football teams, while the 1A Merry-Go-Round will finish a week later.

The news of the week in 2A is that Friday’s Lake Division city rivalry between Bellingham and Sehome will not be played. Sehome will be awarded a win by forfeit, as Bellingham will be unable to field a full team.

This week will mark the end of the regular season for 2A and 3A football teams, while the 1A Merry-Go-Round will finish a week later.

The news of the week in 2A is that Friday’s Lake Division city rivalry between Bellingham and Sehome will not be played. Sehome will be awarded a win by forfeit, as Bellingham will be unable to field a full team.

The Lake Division, along with KingCo teams, Liberty and Sammamish, are part of their own RPI system. Sehome will finish with a 3-0 Lake Division record, while Bellingham will finish 0-3.

The top three teams in the Lake/KingCo RPI, will advance to Week 9 playoffs against the fourth, fifth and sixth place teams from the Sky Division.

Sehome currently has the top RPI in their division, however, they could be overtaken by Liberty. The Patriots play in a 3A league, which the RPI accounts for. There is also a District 1/2 agreement that states that if Liberty finishes with a KingCo League record that is above .500, they will earn the top RPI spot. They are currently 2-2 with one game left, at home against Mercer Island.

Sammamish, who also makes their home in the KingCo, is playing their league football games in a lower division of the Metro League. Their games are scored by RPI only. They are not part of the same agreement as Liberty.

RPI standings will not be official until all games have been finalized.

The top three teams in the Sky Division standings will have a bye on Friday, November 1, also known as Week 9. The fourth, fifth and sixth place Sky teams will host the top three from the Lake/KingCo RPI. The winners of those three Week 9 games will advance to Week 10 games against the top three from the Sky Division. There are three allocations to state from District 1/2 this year.

Currently, there is a three-way tie at the top of the Sky Division between Sedro-Woolley, Lakewood and Lynden. If two teams end up tied, that will be broken by head-to-head. If three teams (or more) are tied, the order will be determined by the results of a pre-season draw.

On Friday night, Lynden hosts Blaine, Archbishop Murphy visits Sedro-Woolley, and Lakewood is at Burlington-Edison. If Lynden and Lakewood lose, there would be a four-way tie if Archbishop Murphy beats Sedro Woolley.

If the Cubs and Lions finish tied, the Cubs will be the top seed. Lynden has the head-to-head over Lakewood, and in turn, Lakewood has the tiebreaker over Sedro-Woolley.

The 1A’s have two games left, and a lot can still happen as Lynden Christian and Mt. Baker lead third place Meridian one game.

However, the Lyncs and Mountaineers are finished with each other, and have split their two head-to-head games. If they remain tied for first place, the tie will be broken by a pre-season draw.

The third place team will advance to a play-in game at the fourth place team from the North Sound Conference, on Tuesday, November 5. That winner will play at the North Sound champion, the following Saturday.

Squalicum and Ferndale, playing in the 3A Wesco North, are currently tied for third with 3-2 records, with the Storm holding the head-to-head edge. The Golden Eagles finish the regular season Friday, at home against Stanwood. The Storm will host Oak Harbor on Saturday, at Civic Stadium.

Both teams will then host Week 9 Wesco crossover games against the team that holds the same place in the South Division.

~ Ted House