Virginia high school league new conferences split beach schools’ competition

Virginia public high schools have been affected by the redistricting of the athletic programs, including 39 in Hampton Roads alone. As of this school year, the Virginia High School League (VHSL) has restructured districts throughout Virginia.  These districts are now replaced by numbered conferences and teams are placed in six different classifications based on the amount of the school’s students. These groups vary from 1A to 6A, with the largest schools classified as 6A.

Most school sports have been affected in the playoffs depending on the sport. The former Beach District, of which the school was a member, will say goodbye to district tournaments and will be replaced with conference tournaments based on the school’s group classification.

“I’m not sure about the changes in other sports, but playoffs for football are based on power rankings, or who you have beaten and lost to and how many wins that team has. Also, we won’t be meeting teams like Salem High School in the playoffs anymore, but might see teams like Oscar Smith High School from Chesapeake because of the newly developed conferences,” Head Varsity Football Coach Bill Stachelski said.

The school is now in Conference 1 and is a Group 6A school. Thus, the school will continue to play rivals such as First Colonial High School, along with new additions, such as Granby High School (GHS) in Norfolk.

Along with VHSL’s new conferences come various positives and negatives. One positive will include a broader spectrum of teams to play, as teams from Norfolk and Chesapeake have been added to the school’s conference.

“I’m excited to be able to play teams we haven’t been able to play in the past because of the new conferences, which means different competition,” said junior soccer player Caroline Davis.

On the flipside, this will longer travel times for teams. For example, the school’s longest drive used to be to Tallwood High School 14 miles away.  Travel times will now be extended though as the school’s teams will drive to schools such as GHS, 22 miles away. This will add to gas prices for the city and schools will need more time to get to their games.

“Now that there are longer travel times, this could take up a lot of time set aside for homework and other out of school activities,” said junior Chad Wentz.

VHSL’s decision to make the change is due to criticism from smaller schools that felt they were being overpowered by the larger schools in the state, according to Student Activities Coordinator Jessica Horning. Thus, schools will now play each other in accordance to their population.

“The Virginia High School League voted on redistricting, giving our athletics a brand new structure. We are not considered a Beach District anymore, yet we will continue to play our rivals in Conference 9 for bragging rights,” Horning said.