HIADA service award winners from left to right: Robbie Speer, Stan Costales Jr., Dennis Rowe, Loke Huddy, Thomas Furtado, Fred Lee, and Elden Esmeralda. Brien Ing | SL

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Members of the delegation of the HHSAA Student Leadership Summit pose for a picture with outgoing HIADA president Georges Gilbert. This was the second consecutive year that the Student Leadership Summit was held prior to the start of HIADA. Brien Ing | SL

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WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — The 57th Annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association Conference got underway Tuesday at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island.

Athletic directors from the state's five leagues, comprised of the nearly 100 member schools of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, are gathered at the resort's 62 oceanfront acres to address issues and concerns over the three-day conference.

A total of 30 concerns/proposals were submitted to HIADA. ADs split up into four breakout groups Tuesday and conducted straw polls before going into league caucuses in the afternoon. The committees will reconvene for a vote Wednesday, with those proposals passing out of committee reaching the HIADA general assembly for another round of voting Thursday.

All HIADA recommendations can be approved, denied or amended by the HHSAA Executive Board, which meets Friday morning at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

One of the more noteworthy measures on the table is centered around football. The HHSAA-submitted proposal seeks to continue the three-tier state tournament. The original measure sought a six-team format in all three divisions (Open, Division I and Division II), however, it was amended in committee to expand the D2 tournament to an eight-team field.

Ultimately, it had just 11 supporters with 24 abstentions — and none opposed — in Tuesday's straw poll vote. The measure has the support of most of the neighbor island leagues, but the Oahu Interscholastic League — the state's largest league, which consequently has the most votes — made up a large amount of the abstentions.

Another proposal, which was submitted by the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, seeks to implement a declaration date for all sports with classification no later than one week after the official start date. That is, all teams must declare for either D1 or D2 — or in the case of football, Open — shortly after the start of their season.

Last year the OIA used its postseason tournament to decide which teams it would send to the Open and D1 state football tournaments last season. Winners of the OIA quarterfinal round qualified for the inaugural Open tournament, while quarterfinal losers were relegated to the D1 tournament.

However, that proposal also appears in limbo with it being defeated 8-10-17 in a straw poll. Even if it fails to pass out of committee vote Wednesday, it can still be brought to Thursday's general assembly via a minority report.

Members of the delegation of the HHSAA Student Leadership Summit pose for a picture with outgoing HIADA president Georges Gilbert. This was the second consecutive year that the Student Leadership Summit was held prior to the start of HIADA. Brien Ing | SL    Purchase image

Tuesday also marked the end of the HHSAA Student Leadership Summit, which brought together 89 student-athletes for two days of workshops and discussions. This was the second consecutive year that the Student Leadership Summit was held prior to the start of HIADA.

St. Andrew's Priory senior-to-be Jordan Jones has taken part in the Summit both years and was an integral part of the planning process.

"It's a lot of communication and a lot of people coming together to make it possible for the student-athletes that attended, so finally seeing them all come together is definitely the best feeling," Jones said. "A lot of them said they wish it was longer and that they had a good time and all that kind of stuff just makes me feel real good."

Jones, a cross country and track and field standout, said she hopes there is one specific lesson the attendees take to heart.

"In athletics there is leadership and leadership is something that I think everyone should be able to do and I think that by providing these opportunities they can learn how to become leaders," said Jones, who added that she would like to be able to give back through athletics in the future.

"I do have a dream of becoming a coach one day; I don't know about a future in administration, but I definitely want to be involved in athletics," Jones said. "That is my passion."

In addition to the second set of breakout group sessions, Wednesday's schedule also includes guest speaker Ken Niumatalolo, who starred in football at Radford High School and then at the University of Hawaii. Niumatalolo currently serves as the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy. In his nine seasons leading the program, his teams have compiled a 77-42 record. Niumatalolo is the winningest coach in Navy history.