Girls soccer blocked from fall
The NIAA board of control has voted twice to move the Class 4A Southern Nevada girls soccer season from winter to fall to allow for a true state championship.
It appears the season will stay where it is, though, despite those votes.
The parent of a Green Valley High School athlete filed suit in federal court Monday seeking to stop the move, and Ray Mathis, director of athletics for the Clark County School District, said he will send a letter to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association requesting that the CCSD teams be allowed to continue playing in the winter for one more season.
Eric Johnson, the father of Green Valley freshman Emma Johnson, filed suit alleging that moving the season from the fall to winter would violate Title IX, which guarantees equal treatment between male and female students.
Mathis, who also serves as president of the NIAA board of control, said he was instructed by superintendent Walt Rulffes to make the request to the NIAA.
"He recommended that I put a request in writing requesting an extension or requesting an opportunity to not participate in the fall but to allow Clark County to participate in the winter for another season," Mathis said. "That way we have an opportunity to go in and address some Title IX concerns and hopefully implement another (girls) sport by the 2009-2010 school year."
Mathis said the district plans to hire a Title IX consultant to help the CCSD come into compliance with the law.
The district's decision to keep playing in the winter apparently satisfied Johnson.
"Essentially, we're not moving forward on any basis on our suit at this time since that action basically accomplishes what we were trying to receive," Johnson said. "At this point, I've been assured that the district plans to keep girls soccer in the winter until a new girls sport opportunity can be offered. We're thrilled with that decision."
Emma Johnson participated in soccer and volleyball as a freshman this school year but would have to choose between the two sports if soccer were moved to the fall.
If girls soccer moved to the fall, the only sports available to girls during the winter season would be basketball and bowling. Boys would have basketball, bowling and wrestling, and the Johnsons claimed that would violate Title IX.
The NIAA board of control originally voted to move the Class 4A Southern Nevada girls soccer season to the fall in 2005. The board again voted to move the season in a special meeting March 26.
The move would have aligned the Northern and Southern seasons, allowing for a true state champion.
Currently, the Class 4A Southern Nevada girls are the only ones playing in the winter. All other boys and girls soccer is played in the fall.
Mathis said the move to the fall was designed to benefit girls. Not only would it have allowed them to play for a state championship, but they would have been playing in better weather on the same fields as the boys. Most teams are forced to use ragged football fields in the winter to play under the lights.
"Our best plan to do what's right for girls seemed to backfire in our face," Mathis said. "There's only one parent that stands in the way from doing what we all believe is right for girls."
