There's just a few days to go until the start of the high school sports season and change is already in the air - change that could affect Kings County schools in the regional and state playoffs.

While the familiar five-division setup for volleyball, boys and girls basketball and cross country remains, what's new is how each school's division is determined, according to Central Section Commissioner Jim Crichlow.

Enrollment has been tossed out as a criteria, replaced by one that reflects how well a team has fared over the past two years.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time here," Crichlow said in an interview at a media session Thursday at the Section's office in Porterville.

So, while nothing's set in stone yet - division placements for volleyball and cross country won't be announced until next month and basketball until Dec. 1 - there's a possibility Hanford High's basketball teams, after their recent success, could be moving up in competition come playoff time.

The Bullpups' boys and girls both won Division III titles last March and advanced to the Southern California regionals.

You may also need to buy a scorecard not just to tell the players, but which division teams are in.

Boys and girls teams at a school could be in different divisions in the postseason as well, since each team will be given a score based on how it fared during the last two seasons in league play, the Section tournament and state playoffs. A team can move up only one division per year.

"It's really about equalizing things," in terms of competition, Crichlow said.

It also helps solve what's been a thorny problem in other sections, where to place private schools, which have no enrollment boundaries.

Other items worth that second cup of coffee:

l Crichlow said the Section is starting to look at realignment for 2010, with new schools coming in Tulare and Delano this year and Sierra Pacific opening next year, to freshmen only.

l CIF President Mike Henson briefly explained the new format for the state football bowls, which expands from three to five divisions this year. The games will be held again at the Home Depot Center in Carson Dec. 19-20.

"Right now, we have a makeup similar to the BCS," said Henson, who is principal at Strathmore High School.

Only Section champions will be eligible for the state championship bowls. The Sunday before the game, a committee will look at the champions from the north and south, with the top two teams picked for the open division game.

In the pipeline, he said, is a plan to have the top two schools in the north and south to meet in a preliminary game, with the winner going to the title game.

Given California's size, Henson said, this is the closest the state will ever come to a true playoff system.

l Lemoore High School athletic director Thom Sembritzki, the Section's president-elect, bailed out of the meeting early to accept a $500 grant for the girls' golf team from the Pacific Women's Golf Association. But if a note passed along to this space by tag-team partner Jeremy Luchau indicates anything, it's definitely been a busy summer on Bush Street.

The school received a new scoreboard for Tiger Stadium, but the manufacturer misspelled Lemoore. Yes, new stickers are on order. And, since the board uses LED technology, advertising attached to the board had to be taken off, since the signs use good ol' light bulbs.

Also, a weed killing/resodding project on the football field has forced a shift in junior varsity and freshman scrimmages vs. Reedley Sept. 4 from Lemoore to Reedley. There's plenty of time for the grass to get rooted, since the Tigers aren't at home until a Sept. 19 game with Tulare Union.

Richard de Give is The Sentinel's sports editor. Reach him at 583-2430 or at rdegive@hanfordsentinel.com.

(Aug. 24, 2008)