FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2005


Girls volleyball finals nudged back 1 day; tournament to run Thursday-Sunday

GAINESVILLE – The 2005 FHSAA Girls Volleyball Finals state championship tournament, originally rescheduled for Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 9-12, will be delayed by one day to Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 10-13, the FHSAA Office announced today.

Class 1A, 3A and 5A semifinal matches originally scheduled for Wednesday will move to Thursday, with the championship matches in those classifications moving from Thursday to Friday. Class 2A, 4A and 6A semifinal matches originally scheduled for Friday will move to Saturday, with the championship matches in those classifications moving from Saturday to Sunday. All match times remain unchanged, with the exception of the Class 2A, 4A and 6A championship matches on Sunday, which will be played at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. rather than 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The one-day bump will give any teams in southeast Florida that are unable to play their regional tournament finals until Monday, Nov. 7, a day to complete travel preparations and practice before departing for the tournament site in Lakeland.

The girls volleyball finals is the latest FHSAA Finals event to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Wilma. Already rescheduled were state finals events in golf, fall soccer and swimming & diving.

"We are grateful to The Lakeland Center for agreeing to this one-day schedule adjustment," said Commissioner John A. Stewart. "A day might not seem like much but it will mean a great deal to those schools impacted by the hurricane."

Sunday competition, while prohibited by FHSAA rules, is not unprecedented. The Commissioner can approve Sunday competition when extenuating circumstances make it necessary.

Said Stewart: "If this isn't extenuating circumstances, what is?"

Here is the latest information on other fall sports.


BOWLING

The deadline for submitting official entry lists to district tournament hosts is today. Schools affected by Wilma and unable to meet this deadline will be permitted to submit entry lists after the deadline without penalty and, if necessary, will be permitted to carry the official entry list to the tournament site on the day of competition. Schools not affected by Wilma must adhere to today's submission deadline.
> District tournament sites and times


CROSS COUNTRY

• The District 1A-4 meet will be held today at the Holy Trinity Episcopal campus in Melbourne. The coaches meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. The girls race will begin at 4:30 p.m. followed by the boys race at 5.
> District meet sites and times
> Regional meet sites and times


FOOTBALL

All schools are reminded to complete district games by Saturday, Nov. 5, according to the following guidelines:
• District games take priority over non-district games. Schedules should be adjusted as needed to ensure the completion of district games by the Nov. 5 deadline. Schools needing to adjust their schedules, however, should contact their opponents in both Weeks 10 and 11 before making any unilateral decisions.
• If it becomes necessary for a school to play two games in a week, the school and its opponent may mutually agree to reduce the lengths of quarters to 10 minutes or 8 minutes as permitted by National Federation Football Rule 3-1-3. If the two schools agree to play shortened quarters but cannot agree on their length, 8-minute quarters will be played.
• District tiebreakers required in districts completing their schedules by Saturday, Nov. 5, will be played on Monday, Nov. 7.
• Schools that have not completed a 10-game regular season schedule and do not advance to the playoffs will be permitted to play a 10th game on either Nov. 7, 8, 9, 10 or 12.
The 2005 FHSAA Football Championships will begin with regional tournament action on the weekend of Friday, Nov. 11, as originally scheduled.


GOLF

The 2005 FHSAA Golf Finals state tournament remains tentatively rescheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 8-9, with the practice round and coaches meeting set for Nov. 7. The Class 2A boys tournament has been moved to Sandridge Golf Course (Dunes Course) in Vero Beach. Sites for the other three tournaments are unchanged.
> Revised practice round schedule (DOC; Class 2A boys at Sandridge see page 2)
> List of partipating hotels


FALL SOCCER

The District 8 tournament is tentatively scheduled to be played this week. The FHSAA Finals first-round play-in game between Community School (Naples) and Trinity Christian (Lake Worth) is scheduled to be played at 3 p.m. Friday. The remaining first-round play-in game between Posnack Jewish (Plantation) and the District 8 champion tentatively will be played on Monday, Nov. 7. The FHSAA Finals state tournament will be played Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12 at a site to be determined.
>Championship bracket


SWIMMING & DIVING

• The District 3A-7 and 1A-6 meets at Indian River Community College in Vero Beach have been postponed until Wednesday, Nov. 9.
• The Region 3A-3, 3A-4, 2A-4 and 1A-4 meets in Broward County have been postponed until the weekend of Nov. 11-13. More detailed information will be posted when it becomes available.
> District meet sites and times
> Regional meet sites and times


GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

> Championship brackets


About the FHSAA
Headquartered in Gainesville, the Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 720 middle and senior public and private high schools. More than 175,000 student-athletes annually participate in one or more of the FHSAA’s 28 championship sports programs. More information is available at www.fhsaa.org.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org