Brian Bautista | SL

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WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — State-championship level volleyball is coming to the Garden Island. 

On the final day of the 65th annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference, ADs from across the state voted in favor of two proposals to bring both the boys' and girls' Division II volleyball state tournaments to the island of Kauai. 

A total of 27 proposals gained approval from the HIADA voting body on Thursday morning. Those HIADA recommendations were then forwarded to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Executive Board, which met a few hours later at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, the site of the three-day confluence of athletic directors. 

Among those HIADA recommendations that were reviewed by the HHSAA Executive Board were two — items 4.10 and 4.11 — that proposed the inclusion of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation as part of the host rotations for both the D2 boys' and girls' volleyball state tournaments. 

Item 4.10, which pertained to the eight-team boys' tournament, was voted in favor unanimously by ADs, 95-0. Item 4.11, tied to the 12-team girls' tournament, also gained HIADA recommendation by a vote of 62 for to 33 against. 

The Oahu Interscholastic Association was the lone group of the five leagues that make up the HHSAA to vote in opposition to the latter measure. 

The KIF had also submitted two other proposals to be included in the rotation to host both the D2 boys' and girls' basketball state tournaments, but both measures were defeated in committee on Wednesday. 

Pearl City athletic director Reid Shigemasa, who was among the OIA's representatives in Group 4 — the committee which oversaw both items — offered some insight into the league's hesitation to back both tournaments going to Kauai on a rotation. 

"We wanted to give Kauai an opportunity to host a state tournament and we know they asked (to host) other tournaments, but we selected boys' volleyball, which is a smaller tournament with eight teams, basically to have that opportunity to host that and use that as a trial run and see how well they do with that and from there we could have built on that," Shigemasa said. 

Shigemasa, a former volleyball coach himself, clarified that ultimately, the OIA will support the KIF's efforts as hosts going forward. 

"That was the only reason we said no, but we want them to have the opportunity and we're not unhappy that they got the girls' D2 (tournament). I think it's good for them — we just wanted a trial run — but again, we're happy for them and I hope everything works out," Shigemasa stated. 

Shigemasa and the OIA were not the only ones to share the sentiment, however. During the closed-door portion of the Executive Board meeting — when the group of five league presidents can approve, deny or amend any HIADA recommendation — it opted to, in fact, deny the approval of item 4.11. 

Item 4.10 was approved, however, meaning the KIF will be included in the rotation to host the D2 boys' volleyball state tournament, but not the girls' tourney. Both proposals indicated the league be approved as a regular site on a three-year rotation beginning in school year 2026-'27.

Between the time item 4.11 was approved by the HIADA general assembly and the time it was nixed by the Executive Board, Hawaii Baptist athletic director Deren Oshiro — who serves as the HHSAA's state coordinator for both boys' and girls' volleyball — gave his take on the matter. 

"I wholeheartedly support the KIF receiving an opportunity to host a Division II state tournament. The (Maui Interscholastic League) and (Big Island Interscholastic Federation) have been hosting (D2) softball and girls' basketball, respectively, but I am of the opinion that it should align with the other neighbor island leagues and be a single sport," Oshiro said. 

Oshiro was citing the fact that the DataHouse D2 softball state tournament is held at Patsy T. Mink Field in Kahului every three to four years and that the Pacific Century Fund Team Aloha D2 girls' basketball state tournament takes place at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo every three years. 

"Boys volleyball makes more sense (than girls, because) it's a smaller, eight-team tournament. Having 12-team Division I and II girls' volleyball tournaments running concurrently on different islands would pose major challenges with everything from coordinating to event operations to officiating," Oshiro said. 

In the end the Executive Board wound up being in alignment with both Oshiro and Shigemasa. 

Kauai High athletic director Kelii Morgado, who spearheaded the KIF's efforts to bring state tournaments to the Garden Island, affirmed his position that the HHSAA's smallest member league is both capable of hosting full 12-team tournaments and not deterred in its quest to play host to more state-level competition in the future. 

"In the KIF we want to showcase to the rest of the state that we're going to be tremendous hosts — it's going to be a great tournament there. We're going to take care of the teams and we're excited. This is an opportunity for us to show the (ADs) that we can handle basketball as well. Yeah, we could do basketball as well, so we can bring that to the table later," Morgado said. 

A centerpiece to the KIF's proposals has been the fact that Kauai High School opened a brand new, state-of-the-art $21 million-dollar gymnasium that has a 1,600-seat capacity in 2023. Furthermore, the Red Raiders' old gym, which was constructed in 1939, remains a viable secondary gym to host games as well as it continues to be used regularly by the school's physical education classes. 

Morgado also cited the fact that another KIF member, Island School, has expressed its willingness to host games in its on-campus gymnasium, also located in Lihue, the capital and county seat of Kauai. 

"We have Island School two miles away from us and we have two gyms on campus — with theirs that's three gyms, all centrally located — so we'll be fine. Yeah, we can do a girls' (12-team) tournament

The HHSAA Executive Board approved all 25 other HIADA recommendations, including several pertaining to minor procedural changes to the bowling, cheerleading, wrestling, girls' flag football and surfing state tournaments.