Title IX at 50 panelists pictured from left to right: Marilyn Moniz-Kahoohanohano, Kalei Namohala, Missy Kilbey and Laynie Sueyasu. Brien Ing | SL

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From left to right: Harvey Nakamura (Konawaena Athletics Staff), Kelly Sur (Radford AD), Jeff Law on behalf of Kimo Weaver (KS-Hawaii, NIAAA State Award of Merit), Urs Leuenberger (Kealakehe Soccer Coach), Alan Vogt (Kealakehe AD). Each was honored with a HIADA Award for their numerous contributions to high school athletics. Not pictured: Trudy Yip-Onaga (MIL administrative aide). Brien Ing | SL

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KEAUHOU, Hawaii — Fifty years ago this month, then-President Richard Nixon signed into law the Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. 

The landmark piece of legislation that was authored by the late United States Congresswoman from Hawaii, Patsy T. Mink and sought gender equity, was celebrated by athletic directors Wednesday during the second day of the 61st Annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association Conference. 

More than 100 administrators from across the state's five interscholastic leagues are gathered at the Outrigger Keauhou Resort and Spa on the west coast of Hawaii Island this week for their first in-person HIADA conference since 2019. While much of their efforts over the course of the three-day conference are focused on reviewing, debating, discussing and voting on several dozen concerns and/or proposals, most of them took in a 90-minute panel discussion: Title IX at 50.

The panel featured former University of Hawaii Senior Women's Administrator Marilyn Moniz-Kahoohanohano, as well as three current HIADA members in Kalei Namohala, Missy Kilbey and Laynie Sueyasu — the athletic directors at Waiakea, St. Andrew's Priory and Castle, respectively. 

"I think that the first word that comes to mind is humbled," said Namohala, a former standout basketball and volleyball player at Waiakea. 

She went on to gain induction into the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor in 1988, before continuing her basketball-playing career at the University of Hawaii, which was where she first met Moniz-Kahoohanohano. 

"I was very honored to be selected to speak on the panel and be amongst their ranks, especially Marilyn because when I went to school, she was my athletic director. If not for her, I wouldn't have learned about Title IX. I learned in college that this great thing allows me to compete, but I just played sports growing up because I was competitve and we would always be playing on the driveway with family members," Namohala said. 

She credits athletics — and Title IX — for much of the success in her life. 

"I've met so many great people that are still in my life today because of the opportunities that Title IX presented for me and I'm a byproduct of athletics; I wouldn't have been able to attend college unless for athletics, because my family wouldn't have been able to send me to college, but because of athletics and Title IX, I had that opportunity," Namohala expressed. 

Title IX protects people from discriminatoin based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. It applies to schools, local and state educational agencies and any other institution that benefits from federal funds. 

"The importance of Title IX isn't just for education, but also for athletics," said Kilbey, a former collegiate softball player. 

"It was meant for educational purposes and athletics has benefitted from it. The women here in Hawaii and all over the nation have had tremendous success with this implementation and the understanding of discrepcancies between male and female sports, athletics, monies that's given out for athletics, facilities, everything like that has just been brought out to the open and a little bit more equity is happening," she added.

Kilbey recalled an instance of inequity from her sophomore year of high school in Iowa. 

"Our softball team had done a fundraiser and it was a huge success. It was a chili dinner with the Iowa basketball team coming to play and we filled the stands," Kilbey said. "There was not an empty seat in the house and we made a lot of money. We took that money back to the school and said, 'This is for the softball team, for our supplies, our uniforms,' and immediately the school said, 'We're taking 20 percent of this and we're giving it to the football team,' no questions asked."

The slight most certainly rubbed Kilbey the wrong way.

"It was a softball fundraiser and yet we're giving it to the boys' team, so right there I knew something wasn't quite right for that to happen and then again in college, when I was playing softball and my husband was playing football, I noticed that we're driving our own vans eight to 10 hours to get to a site and they're taking chartered buses and we're eating at Wendy's and they're eating steak dinners after their games — and it wasn't just the football team," she described. "It was the baseball team and the boys basketball team, all of the men's teams, they were spending many more funds than the women's teams were."

During the panel discussion, Kilbey pointed out some statistics that show just how much growth has taken place in women's athletics. 

"The advancements have been wonderful and I put the stats out there that in 1970 it was seven percent of our students-athletes were women and now it's up to 43 percent, so the stats are there: Title IX is working," she said. 

And that is definitely worth celebrating, Namohala chimed in. 

"I think that the key points to the whole Title IX is the opportunity for all; it's all for gender, race, but it helped females and we celebrate it — especially for the administrators of us who are females — and the pioneers before us because it gave females a chance to produce big in athletics and I think that's why (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association) and HIADA is celebrating it because we wouldn't have females in sports if it wasn't for Title IX," Namohala said. 

Both Namohala and Kilbey noted, however, that there is much work that remains to be done when it comes to gender equity in athletics. 

Kilbey pointed out a presentation from a guest speaker on Tuesday's opening day of HIADA as one example. 

"He had a motivational video and on the video he was showing male coaches inspiring their teams, and so, to me, I spotted it right away that it was all male coaches and all-male teams versus had he looked somewhere for videos of women coaches — Pat Summit, Billy Jean King, all those people that brought a lot to the table as female coaches — but it's not his fault, it's Hollywood's fault. You know, Hollywood is making movies according to men's rules and how men can motivate, so I'd like to see more of that," Kilbey said. 

Namohala added, "There's so much more to do to educate and to promote and there are still fights that people are fighting today to still be equal, especially with professional sports and equal pay because just like me, they don't know. They don't know what somebody did to get them this opportunity to play and all of that is because of a simple law that was passed in 1972 and they take it for granted. If you don't know about it, then you can't appreciate it."

From left to right: Harvey Nakamura (Konawaena Athletics Staff), Kelly Sur (Radford AD), Jeff Law on behalf of Kimo Weaver (KS-Hawaii, NIAAA State Award of Merit), Urs Leuenberger (Kealakehe Soccer Coach), Alan Vogt (Kealakehe AD). Each was honored with a HIADA Award for their numerous contributions to high school athletics. Not pictured: Trudy Yip-Onaga (MIL administrative aide). Brien Ing | SL    Purchase image

Aside from the Title IX panel discussion Wednesday morning, athletic directors reconvened in the early afternoon for a round of voting in one of four groups, or committees. 

Among the items that passed out of committee was a proposal within Group 3 that pertains to baseball and would allow a player to pitch on three consecutive days, given he does not exceed 60 total pitches. 

"My whole intent was to allow for three consecutive days, but to stay within the pitch count," said Saint Louis AD Chad Konishi, who authored the proposal. 

Current HHSAA pitch count rules does not permit one to pitch on three straight days. 

The proposal was tabled in Tuesday's straw poll committee vote, which gave Konishi the opportunity to clarify some of the language in his proposal. 

"So basically if it's less than 35 pitches in the two days, the third consecutive days is capped at 60 pitches," he explained. "So 20 (pitches on day 1) and 10 (on day 2), so the first two days is 30, he would only have 30 (left) on the third day."

The measure passed out of committee Wednesday unanimously, 31-0-0. 

Konishi said he worked with ADs from other leagues to come up with a number that made the most sense. 

"That's what we all kind of wanted, (but) we just didn't have a number, so we stayed within the one day rest at 60 pitches — it made sense," he said. "It just gives a pitcher a role. It's within the same pitch count rules and that's the hard part, to decide what number that was."

Should a pitcher exceed 35 pitches in an outing, he would be ineligible to pitch the very next day.

"My whole point is you're a non-seeded team and you throw your guy Wednesday, Thursday — he's out Friday and you're trying to win a state championship," Konishi theorized. "So maybe that guy should be allowed within the threshold, which is now at 60 (total pitches) and less than 35 the first two days."

Group 3 also passed a measure (after it was amended) that will see the state track and field meet re-institute qualifying standards, with each event capped at 24 entrants. Currently, the state meet does not use qualifying marks, instead opting to take the top 24 individual marks or times. 

The same group also voted against a pair of measures that were submitted by the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. The first sought to limit the number of events that an indivudal can enter at track states to a maximum of four — which is in accordance to the recommendation of the National Federation of High Schools. However, that, along with a proposal to introduce a shot clock for the girls state water polo tournament were nixed in committee Wednesday. 

Another ILH-submitted proposal hopes to utilize shot clocks in prep basketball starting in the 2023-2024 school year, but it was voted down, 16 to 20. The ILH, however, is expected to submit a minority report when the entire HIADA voting body meets Thursday morning for the final general assembly. At that time, all proposals that passed out of committee will be brought to the general assembly floor for a final vote.

Proposals that gain HIADA approval would then be forwarded to the HHSAA Executive Board, which meets Thursday afternoon. The Executive Board can approve, deny or amend any HIADA recommendation.