The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has adopted new regional alignments for boys and girls soccer that will resemble those of basketball and other team sports.
Area boys and girls teams would be grouped into two districts within the 12th Region that exactly match the districts in which those schools play baseball and basketball.
The KHSAA Board of Control approved the alignment at its meeting Wednesday that redraws the 16 regions based on feedback from the membership and discussion from the board and takes effect next season, at its meeting Wednesday in Lexington.
“This is an important step in the progression of soccer and one that will allow the sport to grow into a strong geographical alignment like the rest of the team sports,” KHSAA assistant commissioner Michael Barren said in a news release. “We hope the closer proximity of districts and regions will allow schools that may have been hesitant to add the sport to go ahead and do it now.”
Only eight of the 16 regions contain four districts, some regions contain as few as seven teams and a number of the 51 districts have only three teams.
“Though this alignment may appear somewhat non-traditional in that regions do not have uniform district sizes, it will allow new schools to add the sport and increase our participants,” KHSAA commissioner Julian Tackett said in the release.
The KHSAA board also approved a change to the postseason volleyball format beginning with the 2012 season in which all district, regional and state tournament matches will be played in a best-of-five format rather than the best-of-three currently used.
The change, effective this season, brings Kentucky in line with national rules. For regular-season matches, the format defaults to best-of-five, but schools may mutually agree to play best-of-three.
“Most of the states, and all of our neighboring states, currently use (the best-of-five) format to determine their champions,” KHSAA assistant commissioner Butch Cope said. “We also understand concerns voiced from our school administrators about keeping student-athletes out late on school nights so we still allow the option for schools to agree on a format that is best for them for regular-season matches.”
In other action, the board:
—— Adopted a policy stating that no alcohol is to be sold at any KHSAA state championship venue while the championship is being conducted, even if that venue offers alcohol sales at other events.
—— Approved an alignment for bowling, a KHSAA-sanctioned sport for the first time this year. No area teams participate in bowling, and none have indicated they will do so next year.
KHSAA Soccer Alignment
(Effective with 2012 season)
Region 1
District 1 — Ballard Memorial, Community Christian, Heath, Lone Oak, Paducah Tilghman, Reidland, St. Mary
District 2 — Calloway County, Graves County, Marshall County, Mayfield, Murray
Region 2
District 5 — Crittenden County, Lyon County, Trigg County
District 6 — Henderson County, Union County, Webster County
District 7 — Caldwell County, Dawson Springs, Hopkins County Central, Madisonville-North Hopkins
District 8 — Christian County, Fort Campbell, Hopkinsville, University Heights
Region 3
District 9 — Apollo, Daviess County, Owensboro, Owensboro Catholic
District 10 — McLean County, Muhlenberg County, Ohio County,
District 11 — Breckinridge County, Meade County, Butler County, Grayson County
Region 4
District 13 — Franklin-Simpson, Logan County, Russellville, Todd County Central
District 14 — Bowling Green, Greenwood, South Warren, Warren Central, Warren East
District 15 — Barren County, Glasgow, Monroe County, Clinton County
Region 5
District 17 — Central Hardin, Elizabethtown, Fort Knox, John Hardin, North Hardin
District 18 — Hart County, LaRue County, Marion County, Taylor County
District 19 — Bardstown, Bethlehem, Nelson County, Thomas Nelson, Washington County
Region 6
District 21 — Fairdale, Louisville Holy Cross, Pleasure Ridge Park, Valley
District 22 — Butler, DeSales, Doss, Iroquois, Western,
District 23 — Bullitt Central, Evangel Christian, Moore, North Bullitt, Southern
District 24 — Bullitt East, Fern Creek, Jeffersontown, Mercy (girls), Whitefield
Region 7
District 25 — Central, DuPont Manual, Presentation (girls), St. Francis
District 26 — Assumption (girls), Brown, Collegiate, Male, St. Xavier (boys)
District 27 — Atherton, Sacred Heart (girls), Seneca, Trinity (boys), Waggener
District 28 — Ballard, Eastern, Kentucky Country Day, Louisville Christian
Region 8
District 29 — North Oldham, Oldham County, South Oldham,
District 30 — Anderson County, Collins, Shelby County, Spencer County
District 31 — Carroll County, Gallatin County, Henry County, Owen County
District 32 — Grant County, Simon Kenton, Walton-Verona
Region 9
District 33 — Boone County, Conner, Cooper, Ryle
District 34 — Dixie Heights, Ludlow, St. Henry District, Villa Madonna
District 35 — Beechwood, Covington Catholic (boys), Covington Holy Cross, Covington Latin, Holmes, Notre Dame (girls)
District 36 — Bellevue, Dayton, Highlands, Newport Central Catholic
Region 10
District 37 — Bishop Brossart, Calvary Christian, Campbell County, Scott
District 38 — Harrison County, Pendleton County, Mason County, St. Patrick
District 39 — Bourbon County, George Rogers Clark, Montgomery County, Paris
Region 11
District 41 — Frankfort, Franklin County, Western Hills, Woodford County
District 42 — Bryan Station, Henry Clay, Sayre, Scott County
District 43 — Lafayette, Lexington Catholic, Lexington Christian, Paul Dunbar, Tates Creek
District 44 — Berea, Madison Central, Madison Southern, Model
Region 12
District 45 — Boyle County, Danville, Garrard County, Kentucky School for the Deaf, Lincoln County
District 46 — Burgin, East Jessamine, Mercer County, West Jessamine
District 47 — Pulaski County, Somerset, McCreary Central
District 48 — Monticello, Southwestern, Wayne County
Region 13
District 49 — North Laurel, Corbin, South Laurel, Whitley County
District 50 — Oneida Baptist, Bell County, Middlesboro
Region 14
District 53 — Letcher County Central, Buckhorn, Hazard, Perry County Central
District 54 — Jackson City, Wolfe County, Estill County
Region 15
District 57 — Johnson Central, Lawrence County, Paintsville, Prestonsburg, Sheldon Clark
District 58 — Belfry, Pike County Central, Pikeville, Shelby Valley
Region 16
District 61 — Bath County, Fleming County, Menifee County, Rowan County
District 62 — East Carter, Elliott County, Greenup County, West Carter
District 63 — Ashland Blazer, Boyd County, Russell, Rose Hill Christian
