On April 15 the athletic administrators of the California Interscholastic Foundation held a meeting at Bishop Dean High School to discuss the future of the Marmonte League. The league administrators, who represent high school sport teams ranging from Calabasas to Paso Robles, voted in approval of a plan proposed by Agoura High School to split the Marmonte league into two. This change would apply to all sports with the exception of football.
The Marmonte League, which is comprised of CHS, AHS, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Oaks Christian, Royal, Simi Valley, St. Bonaventure, Thousand Oaks and Westlake high schools, will add Oak Park and Camarillo high schools to the league.
“I think the split preserves our local rivalry with [AHS],” said boys basketball head coach Jon Palarz. “By keeping NPHS and MHS and adding OPHS to the league, we have convenient geography for our league competition; however, all of the sports will now need to schedule a variety of non-league opponents to fill out their seasons because we lose the other four schools.”
CHS will now limit its competitors to MHS, NPHS, OPHS and AHS. CHS was one of the strongest supporters for the new plan. Varsity teams at CHS will greatly benefit from the split. Travel costs have been an issue for the high schools in the Marmonte League, and the new plan will shorten the distances traveled and will lessen the amount of class time students miss.
“The new plan will likely result in a higher number of victories for CHS, as its competition is significantly decreased,” said junior varsity soccer and track runner sophomore Julia Goldberg. “[The split] is a positive thing because we will miss less class time. With all the time we spend in practice and on the road getting to meets, it is really stressful having to balance sports and class. Now I will have more time to practice without sacrificing study time.”
Although the plan has already been approved, a year must pass before it becomes official. The plan is scheduled to go into effect in the spring of 2014, but appeals could cause a significant delay in the installation of the new leagues.
