Maui has been removed from the rotation of boys soccer state tournament sites, meaning the 2008 tourneys will be held at O'ahu's Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Complex instead.

That action was taken by the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's executive board yesterday, after voting on a proposal that got lost in the shuffle at last week's Hawai'i Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association Conference on the Big Island.

In the old rotation, the boys soccer state tournament was held on Maui every third year. A proposal submitted by HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya — citing limited hotel space on Maui in February, poor fan attendance there and the fact that 11 teams have had to travel to the Valley Isle while only one Maui team qualified — failed to gain a motion in a HIADA committee meeting Thursday night.

It was then re-introduced when the committee re-convened the next morning and approved it by a 23-7 vote, but upon further review that action was deleted because it did not follow parliamentary procedure.

The proposal was re-introduced again yesterday before the HHSAA executive board — representatives from the state's five leagues who have the final say — and was approved by a vote of 55 schools to 37. Board members from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation and Maui Interscholastic League opposed the proposal, but the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and O'ahu Interscholastic Association voted in favor. The OIA has 29 member schools, and the ILH has 26.

"Our concern is that this will set a precedent," said board member Shaun Suzuki, the principal at Konawaena. "Will we be taking away more state tournaments from the Neighbor Islands?"

But Amemiya and OIA executive secretary Dwight Toyama assured the board that the movement in recent years actually has been toward more Neighbor Island state tournaments, not less. Amemiya noted that baseball, football, volleyball, track and field, swimming and diving, paddling, golf, tennis and bowling tournaments will continue to have a Neighbor Island presence.

"This was only brought up for boys soccer," Amemiya said.

The Neighbor Island board members, however, made impassioned pleas for relief from their travel burden. BIIF executive director Ken Yamase said one Big Island baseball team's trip to the state tournament in Honolulu last month cost $12,000.

He said much of the money comes from fundraising.

"The money from (legislative) travel allocations usually runs out," said Yamase, a former athletic director at Waiakea High School in Hilo. "We have to fundraise, but it's hard."

Hana athletic director Rich Young said the MIL incurs big travel costs during its regular season because its members are on three islands (Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i).

"(Moloka'i's) travel budget can easily be $80,000 to $90,000 (per year)," Young said.

The proposal to move the boys soccer tournament permanently to O'ahu includes a legislative travel grant of $2,500 for each Neighbor Island team.

The Neighbor Island board members also appealed to include O'ahu in the rotation for HIADA's annual conference, which currently is held only on Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island. Young cited more affordable hotel options on O'ahu.

But Toyama and Interscholastic League of Honolulu executive director Don Botelho said few O'ahu hotels could accommodate a conference of HIADA's size (roughly 300-plus people) and they would lose out on bargain group rates because most of the O'ahu attendees would commute from home.

The board voted 3-0 with two abstentions (ILH and OIA), but the vote basically represents only a recommendation since the issue ultimately will be decided by the HIADA executive board.

In other action yesterday, the HHSAA board unanimously confirmed a HIADA recommendation to approve Division II state tournaments for baseball and boys soccer and also expand the girls water polo tournament field from eight teams to 12.

It also confirmed a recommendation to keep cheerleading as a fall sport, by a vote of 60 schools to 32. The cheerleading state tournament will thus be held in December for the first time.

It was scheduled to be held in December of 2006, but a lack of available hotel rooms due to the Honolulu Marathon pushed it back to January. This year's tournament is set for Dec. 2.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.