Move to 5-class girls' sports looks imminent

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Advisory committees in girls' basketball, volleyball and softball advocate a move to five classes in those sports, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union executive director Mike Dick said Monday.Dick was in Cedar Rapids with other IGHSAU officials, touring the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena as a possible site of the 2011 state volleyball tournament."It's looking more and more like (five-class sports) is going to happen," Dick said.More discussion is expected at a board of directors meeting Jan. 19. If a change is made, it probably will be effective the 2012-13 school year.Presently, girls' basketball, volleyball and softball are classed as follows: The top 48 schools (enrollment in grades 10-12 of 564-2,016) are in Class 4A, the next 64 (288-564) in 3A, the next 128 (149-286) in 2A, the rest (148 and below) in 1A.In Dick's favorite model, reclassification will look like this: The top 40 (831 and up) in Class 5A, the next 48 (350-819) in 4A, the next 64 (216-347) in 3A, the next 96 (138-211) in 2A, the rest (137 and below) in 1A.The bottom eight schools in enrollment in Class 4A are Des Moines Hoover, Davenport North, Indianola, North Scott, Lewis Central, Newton, Cedar Rapids Xavier and Western Dubuque. In Dick's scenario, those schools would no longer be in the largest class.Track and cross country would remain four-class sports, because they are contested in a co-ed format with the boys. Golf may or may not move to five classes, Dick said.