Under the proposed regional format, league champions like Kamehameha and Konawaena would still have a first-round bye and act as the host of a regional. There would be a single game Friday, with the winner advancing to face the regional host Saturday. The four regional winners would advance to the final four the following week. Timothy Ing | SL

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HONOLULU – Chris Chun's hope is one step closer to becoming reality – with some concessions.

Day two of the 53rd Annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference took place Saturday at the Ala Moana Hotel and among the concerns addressed by the AD's was one submitted by Chun and the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.

Chun, the HHSAA's executive director, wants all 12-team state tournaments to change in format from four rounds in four days on one island to a two-week tournament that features four regional sites on three islands and a final four the following weekend.

A straw vote Friday by a group of athletic directors saw the proposal fail by a vote of 17 for, 20 against and one abstention. However, after the proposal was amended to include only the Division I state tournaments for girls basketball and boys volleyball on a one-year trial basis, it passed through the same committee, 21 to 15.

"I think the fact that it's going to be done on a pilot basis and it has more details, more grasp, so I think people understand it better," Chun said. "I'm kind of shocked that it got out of committee, but I'm happy because it's going to the floor and it seems like it has a lot of support."

With the proposed format, the league championships from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, Interscholastic League of Honolulu, Maui Interscholastic League and Oahu Interscholastic Association would still have a first-round bye and act as the host of a regional. There would be a single game Friday, with the winner advancing to face the regional host Saturday. The four regional winners would advance to the final four the following week.

It would effectively eliminate consolation games, but Chun is banking on gate revenue from the regional sites to offset that. He said that girls basketball and boys volleyball were specifically targeted for a reason.

"Girls basketball has traditionally been strong on the neighbor islands, so I think the Oahu schools recognized that and boys volleyball is something that is kind of a smaller market or money-maker than other sports so we can see if it'll actually turn a profit this way," Chun said.

The state's largest league, the Oahu Interscholastic Association, appears to be the lone league staunchly opposed to the proposal. It would mean the league would have to send two teams to neighbor islands for the first weekend of the tournament.

"The OIA is a little uneasy because there's just too many questions as this point and too many unknowns," Waipahu athletic director Stacie Nii said. "We just want to make sure we're ready for something like this."

Most of the three neigbor island leagues favor the proposal, as does the ILH, which cited the fact that student-athletes would miss just two days of school rather than three or four.

"As far as the BIIF, we're in favor," Waiakea athletic director Tom Correa said. "It allows one of our teams to stay home and have a home-field or home-court advantage, which it does for everybody who is seeded, so I think that's why the neighbor island schools are in favor. It gives their fans an opportunity to see state-caliber play."

Chun said most of the concerns raised in committee centered around travel expenses.

"About fans travel and stuff like that, but I think it benefits them in a way because now the fans on the neighbor islands get to see the state tournaments first-hand," Chun said.

Correa said while there are other, lesser issues to be dealt with in regards to the regionals, it is potentially worth the hassle.

"Logistically they would be some issues, but more from an athletic administration standpoint; You'd be setting up a concession for one single game, but I think it's a good approach that they're piloting," Correa said. "It's a start somewhere and it's a step in a positive direction."

Chun is pleased so far, but there are still more hurdles to clear. The committee recommendation must now be voted on by the HIADA General Assembly Sunday morning and if it passes there, a final approval must come from the HHSAA Executive Board Monday.