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LIHUE, Kauai — The state track and field championships will include a new event next spring. 

On the final day of the 62nd annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association Conference at the Royal Sonesta Resort Thursday morning, ADs from across the state approved the addition of a 4x800-meter relay race for the 2023-'24 school year. 

"I think it's a great thing," said Kamehameha-Hawaii athletic director Kimo Weaver, who serves as the track and field sport coordinator for both the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. 

The 4x800 relay is a National Federation of High Schools-sanctioned race that 42 of 50 states in the US conduct at their state championship meet. 

"Currently right now we only have 16 events for track and field; I think we're kind of on the lighter side as compared to other states. If we can add a few more events — some of them are limited due to venue limitations — but I think any time we can add relays, it not only adds an event but it adds participation numbers for each member school; I think it's a great idea," Weaver said. 

The NFHS recommendation is to run the 4x800 relay at the very start of the running events, ahead of the hurdle races (girls' 100-meter and boys' 110-meter). 

Hanalani athletic director Jeremy Honold, who brought the proposal to Thursday's general assembly floor via minority report, likened the prospective excitement that will come from the new relay event to the 4x400 race that concludes each meet. 

"Same idea; you start off with that," Honold said. "That's the (NFHS) recommendation, that it's the first event of the track meet, so we felt that was the right spot for it."

While AD's from the BIIF, along with their counterparts from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and the Kauai Interscholastic Federation, voted in favor of the proposal, both the Maui Interscholastic League and Oahu Interscholastic Association voted in opposition. Still, the measure passed — ever so narrowly — by a count of 48-46. 

"It's not like we're totally against it, but it's just that it offers challenges that makes it a little bit more difficult for us," said Maui High athletic director and MIL track and field coordinator Michael Ban. 

"We had a lot of concerns regarding the 4x800," Ban went on. "Although it's a great event and opportunity for the kids, there's some challenges as far as scheduling, running the event and the timing that we, as a league, were concerned about."

Ban said some of the difficulties will include an earlier start time for running events at any given meet and noted that just about all race officials are volunteers. 

"For the state tournament, it's probably OK, but for our league, that's where our concern is because we usually do our two-day meets on Thursday-Friday, so that's weekdays, so when do guys get off (work)?," Ban said. He also pointed out the potential for more missed class time for student-athletes. 

"If we had it like this year, we had to get out of school at 12 o'clock. Every Friday we're getting out of school at 12 o'clock and that impacts academics, so those types of challenges. What are you going to do, tell Lahaina(luna) to come at 11 o'clock? So it's just a matter of how are we gonna do that. It can be done, but it's just how are we gonna do that," Ban said. 

Honold believes that the answers may not be too difficult to come by. He used the timetable from last month's state championship meet that was held at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku as an example. 

"I believe there's no logistical implementation from it. For example, on day two of this past track and field championship, I believe field events started at 1 (p.m.) and running events started at 5, so if you have field events start at 1 and you have the track events start at 4, there's still gonna be people (officials) there, so there's not gonna be additional time, right," Honold said. 

Weaver also believes that the logistical impact will be minimal. 

"That's the beauty of the 4x800, you run it first, so before the hurdles and logistically it's probably the easiest place — other than at the very end — for an event, if you're gonna add it," Weaver said. "So you've already started the meet with field events and then whether you start right on time with running events — and that would be the first event — or you could start a little earlier if you want just to give some time to move the hurdles, which is the second event, so right where you put it, it's very simple to do."

The proposal, as written, reads: "Establish the 4x800m relay as a state event. Trials will be the first running event on the first day, finals the first running event on the second day."

Weaver noted that the verbiage provides the HHSAA with a bit of leeway. 

"I think the proposal left enough flexibility for the Games Committee to adjust as needed," he said. "Basically we're adding the event and it's allowing those track officials, the Games Committee, to make sure it's done in the safest and best possible way for our state."

Both Weaver and Honold pointed out that the 4x800 relay will provide a chance for more distance runners to get involved in more races. Weaver said that within the BIIF he has seen a recurrence of distance runners choosing between competing in the the 1,500-meter run and the 3,000 at the state meet. 

"They may qualify for both, but they'll choose one; this gives them another opportunity to participate in the state with the 4x800, if they qualify there. For our league, if they do choose one and if for some reason they're DQ'd or they don't make the finals, they're done in the state tournament. This does give those distance runners another event," Weaver said. 

Honold echoed his Big Island counterpart's sentiments; He noted that the 4x100 and the 4x400 serve as opportunities for sprinters to participate in more events via relay races and that the 4x800 will do the same for middle-to-long distance runners. 

"I think just bringing an opportunity for our students. As mentioned, the other relays on the field right now for track is for the shorter distance guys, ideally predominates to the sprinters, so providing another opportunity for students to compete, specifically more the distance guys, we felt was a good opportunity for them," Honold said. 

Thursday's final general assembly was the culmination of the week's events for the nearly 100 athletic directors from HHSAA-member schools across the state. Thirty-four concerns/proposals were brought to the HIADA conference to start the week. ADs split into four groups, or committees, and conducted straw polls on Tuesday's opening day of the conference. The following day each committee voted on the same proposals, of which 16 reached Thursday's general assembly floor, including two brought via minority report. 

Fourteen of the 16 committee recommendations carried through the general assembly vote, including five that passed unanimous, 94-0. 

The 4x800 relay proposal, which was submitted for HIADA consideration by the ILH, was defeated in Wednesday's committee vote, 18-21. 

One of the two proposals that did not gain HIADA recommendation Thursday sought to allow wrestlers to use the two-pound growth allowance to be eligible for a weight class, if their weight descent plan allows it. That measure was defeated by a narrow margin, 46-48. 

Also pertaining to wrestling, ADs voted to follow the new NFHS 14 recommended national weight classes for both genders. 

Two other measures that passed of note will implement a 30-second shot clock in the HHSAA state water polo championships (down from the current 35 seconds allotted) and the other will institute a tie-breaker procedure if teams are tied for second place following the final round of the (36-hole) state championship golf tournament. 

Thirteen of the 14 HIADA recommendations were forwarded to the HHSAA Executive Board (one was withdrawn from consideration). The Board, made up of the presidents of each of the HHSAA's five member leagues, met Thursday afternoon in Lihue and approved all 13 HIADA recommendations.