2019 State Champion Kamehameha Warriors
After 10 state championships in girls volleyball, Chris Blake the competitor hates to see less.
Less matches. Less competition. Less fun. The longtime Kamehameha coach is grateful, though, that there is something to build on now that the HHSAA has designed Aug. 31 as the start date for fall sports statewide. The fall, winter and spring seasons will each be limited to 11 weeks due to the late start caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s good to put a pin in it and construct a plan of action. We’re returning with our students in some form in the middle of August,” said Blake, a math teacher. “Cutting out those first three weeks, there’s no Ann Kang (Classic). We usually have a tournament.”
This fall was to be the first for the rugged Interscholastic League of Honolulu with a best-of-five format during the regular season.
“That proposal went through after years of me asking,” Blake said. “Our pilot format shouldn’t be affected.”
The September trip to the Durango Volleyball Classic in Arizona is up in the air. Punahou also has plans to attend. It’s not a cut-and-dry decision yet.
“We’re probably going to cancel our trip to the Durango tournament. We would have to deal with a 14-day quarantine there and another one when we come back. No matter what they do, (there is risk) when you’re in that pressurized tube above the ocean, a five-hour trip of getting whatever there is,” Blake said.
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