Besides eliminating the shot clock for Far East basketball tournaments, DODDS-Pacific’s Far East Activities Council enacted tougher penalties for athletes who violate the Far East tournament Code of Conduct.
FEAC also moved to lengthen Class A soccer tournaments from three days to four. Also, school enrollment for Class A or Class AA tournament eligibility will be determined in mid-May instead of the first week of September, FEAC chair Don Hobbs said.
Students who violate the Code of Conduct will be barred from participating in Far East activities for one calendar year, Hobbs said. The Code of Conduct is signed by every student, their parents and their coaches before each sports season.
An example of code violation is missing 10 p.m. curfew during a Far East event.
“People on FEAC felt very strong that it’s a privilege, an honor, to participate in Far East tournaments. They sign a code of conduct and if it carries any weight, it needs to be enforced,” Hobbs said.
Students may participate in the regular season but not in Far East tournaments in sports seasons that follow the ban, he said.
This year’s Class A soccer tournament, slated for May 19-21 at Perry, was already extended by a day, with five matches to be played the evening of May 18, Lange said.
The fact that the tournament has doubled in size from a year ago, with 10 boys and eight girls teams, means it “warrants an additional day,” Hobbs said.
“We have 52 games over three days. I have every time slot filled,” Matthew C. Perry athletic director Mark Lange said. “It’s definitely something we pushed for.”
Until last fall, schools at the 300-enrollment borderline had until the first week of September to declare whether they would compete in Class A or Class AA tournaments.
That will now be determined on DODDS-Pacific’s earliest date on which students may be withdrawn while receiving full credit for a school year. That day this year is May 14.
“We don’t want to wait until the first week of school” to determine eligibility, Hobbs said.
Currently, Yokota and Robert D. Edgren of Japan are at the borderline, Hobbs said.
