Hawai'i high school coaches will get a reprieve from statewide offseason restrictions for the remainder of the school year, but they must adhere to a uniform calendar starting in July 2007.

The Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's executive board yesterday suspended enforcement of statewide restrictions for coaches in their sport's "offseason," including those who coach club teams. The first-time plan was approved in June but caused some chaos when coaches learned about it during the summer.

Especially in remote areas on the Neighbor Islands, many of the high school coaches also run the local club teams in the offseason due to a shortage of qualified and available coaches.

"That was a big concern for our league," said Ken Yamase, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation's executive director.

It apparently was an issue in all five of the state's leagues, as the vote to suspend restrictions quickly passed unanimously.

Another issue that drew concerns was moving the cheerleading state tournament from March to December. O'ahu Interscholastic Association executive director Dwight Toyama said the move was prompted after his league received feedback from coaches during their postseason evaluation meeting.

"One thing that was brought up is that it's a long season (from August to March) and doesn't give the kids a chance to play other sports," Toyama said. "Also, a lot of the coaches are college students, so if the season runs until March, they have to make sacrifices in two semesters. If the season ends in December, they only sacrifice (in) one semester.

"Another issue is the national championships before the state tournament. Say Moanalua wins a national championship (in February) ... there was concern that some judges might be swayed and think, 'How can Moanalua be a national champion and finish fourth in the state championships?' "

Toyama also said although cheerleading's season ran from fall through winter, there is only one "slot" allowed for a cheerleading coach in each school's budget, meaning they get paid the same as coaches in other sports whose seasons are half as long.

But Kellie Mikami, the HHSAA's co-coordinator for cheerleading, said she attended a coaches meeting last month in which 52 coaches representing more than 20 schools in all five leagues voiced objection to the change in state tournament dates.

"The first priority is to promote school spirit, so a lot of time in the fall is spent preparing for games and pep rallies, things like that," said Mikami, a former University of Hawai'i cheerleader and high school coach. "In competition, there's a lot of new skills to learn every year and it takes time, there's a progression. The coaches think it is a safety factor where (the kids) will be trying to do both (cheering and competing) in the fall."

Mikami, who also was a competitive diver at UH, said she believes many of the cheerleaders would prefer to concentrate on cheerleading rather than play a winter sport.

Maui Interscholastic League executive director Stephen Kim said cheerleading coaches from his league have expressed concern about travel costs and availability of hotel rooms during the Dec. 10 championship weekend, when the Honolulu Marathon and a U2 concert also are scheduled.

A proposal was made to move the championship to Jan. 27, but it was defeated by a 3-2 vote.

"That would still have (cheerleading) overlapping two seasons, and we don't want students being locked into one sport," said Mid-Pacific Institute principal Rich Schaffer, president of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

In other business, the HHSAA board approved a measure requiring all non-volunteer high school coaches to be certified by a league-approved coaches education program within two years of hire. The Department of Education already has such a requirement, but the ILH does not.

HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said requiring certification for all coaches and officials is standard practice in many states.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.