LIHU‘E — The official Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation sports schedule is expected to be announced Wednesday, according to KIF executive director Diane Nitta. The late announcement this year is due to ongoing discussions between the KIF board and the county as
LIHU‘E — The official Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation sports schedule is expected to be announced Wednesday, according to KIF executive director Diane Nitta.
The late announcement this year is due to ongoing discussions between the KIF board and the county as to whether or not changes are necessary to the traditional football schedule.
Like the majority of high school conferences across the country, the KIF is used to Friday night games. However, there are alternative options currently being discussed, in large part because of worry over shearwater “takes” due to the bright lights used to illuminate evening and night play.
The Endangered Species Act says that a “take” includes “harming a listed species,” where “harm” is defined as “an act which actually kills or injures wildlife.”
Some events that can fall under the term “harm” may include “significant habitat modification or degradation” or “significantly impacting essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering.”
Those found to be responsible for a “take” are subject to a $10,000 fine per bird, in this case.
Football season is aligned with the “fledgling” period for the threatened birds, which is the time when “the birds are finding their way out to sea and may collide with manmade structures or become exhausted, disoriented and land, becoming targets for predators,” according to the Kaua‘i Seabird Habitat Conservation Plan.
That fledgling period is from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15.
The regular season will kick off the first weekend in September, allowing for the possibility of night games in the season’s opening weeks.
Preseason games will likely be played in the evenings, Nitta said.
But there is still discussion as to the appropriate scheduling once Sept. 15 arrives.
The KIF board recently met with the county on July 6, with another meeting lined up for this coming Wednesday.
After that meeting, Nitta said that the KIF board will get together to finalize its schedule, based on the negotiations with the county.
The issue of seabirds is one that has been on the KIF’s radar for some time and the league has “tried to be as cooperative as possible.”
“Every year we try to do a little bit more,” Nitta said.
Whether it be making announcements during the games or having groups from the schools go with adults to look for downed birds, the issue is one of which the board has been very “cognizant.”
Though the discussions have presented a number of different scenarios and possibilities, Nitta reiterated that there will be nothing officially decided until the Wednesday meeting.
The potential impact of a move to Saturday for football could shift other sports around, as well. One such move could be girls volleyball, which has typically been played on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.
That would likely have to be altered if football were to move away from the Friday night lights.
