Four Seattle 4A schools may join the league in the coming years.
As the question of whether Bainbridge will stay or go in the Metro League comes up in the next few months, another situation has arisen for debate.
The principals of several Seattle area schools are debating whether to move Garfield, Roosevelt, Ballard and Franklin, all 4A schools that play in the Kingco League, to the Metro League starting in 2008.
The move is being considered for competition and transportation reasons.
Aside from a few notable exceptions, many programs of the four urban schools struggle against the competition in their respective sports.
Also, with many of their games taking part on the east side of King County, many athletes must miss school time to travel to games.
Bainbridge athletic director Neal White said the option of moving the schools back to Metro has been debated for a few months.
There was also the option of leaving everything as is, or bringing the 4A schools back and move away from the two division setup separated by public and private schools.
But welcoming in the 4A schools is just one of the many things being taken into consideration by Bainbridge in their decision to move back to the familiarity of the Olympic League or stay in Metro.
“I’m glad that we’ve hung in Metro for the past two years,” he said. “The league has been good to us. It’s raised our level of play in all sports.
“I still feel like a Kitsap County team,” White continued. “We still have a rivalry with North Kitsap, although O’Dea and some other schools we have a rivalry with now.”
One major factor of whether Bainbridge will stay or go is the comfort that athletes, coaches and parents have with the Metro League.
“Our roots are in Kitsap County, but I get the feeling from parents and the athletes that they want to stay,” he said. “It’s all they know.”
White did say he was frustrated with the league over scheduling issues and teams unwilling to travel to the school during the spring, but they were resolved.
He also said he would help new athletic director Annette Duvall find a solution before he retired in June.
The schools met for three hours to make a decision on the matter at a Thursday morning meeting, but did not take a vote.
Al Hairston, coordinator of athletics for the Seattle Public School district, told the Seattle Times the schools needed more time to come to a decision.
