Division 1A tournament could be revisited

A hockey player stands on the faceoff spot. Leg view only

The Division 1A tournament may be gone, but it’s clearly not forgotten.

At Wednesday’s MIAA board meeting, the topic came up again. Although nothing can be done until July 1, 2025 at the earliest, MIAA Associate Executive Director Sherry Bryant acknowledged that there is still an appetite for the sport, citing the efforts of two sports (hockey men’s and baseball) to restore it.

“We are currently collecting data to see if there is a pattern of dominance between schools that would necessitate a more balanced divisional structure,” Bryant said. “If there was a 1A tournament (in the future), it would have to meet all the requirements of other tournaments: single elimination, venue policies, similar facilities and officials assignment.”

With the end of the fall season, MIAA Assistant Director Jim Clark, the man primarily responsible for collecting scores and creating the current power ranking system, said the process by which the Scores are entered into Arbiter has improved.

“We’re still dealing with missing scores,” Clark said. “But it’s pretty minimal.”

In other talking points, Bryant said some schools have games that are overdue. While Bryant admits this isn’t a widespread problem, it puts them in a position where they have to respect the integrity of every other school’s rules. As is the case, if schools overschedule games, they must forfeit them, which creates problems for many schools when it comes to tournament times.

Tournament release dates for fall sports have been announced. Football pairs will be released this Sunday, followed by volleyball on Monday, field hockey on Tuesday and boys/girls soccer on Wednesday. According to Clark, the pairings should be released at 1 p.m. and they are final.

The board of trustees voted unanimously to grant a membership application to New Heights Charter School in Brockton.