In a surprise landslide vote, Washington became the seventh state to approve a shot clock in high school boys basketball beginning in the 2009-10 season.

The Representative Assembly of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) passed the shot-clock amendment by a vote of 42-11. Every boys basketball game will utilize a 35-second shot clock that will be reset when a shot hits the rim. The 35-second time was selected to be more consistent with college basketball.

Washington was already one of eight states to use a shot clock in girls basketball, which was introduced in 1974.

In other news from the WIAA Representative Assembly:

• The group approved a running clock for football games when the margin is at least 45 points, but failed a similar proposal for basketball.

• A proposal to add girls lacrosse as a WIAA-sanctioned sport was voted down for the second consecutive year.

• An amendment to place private schools in a separate classification never made it to a vote.

RAL’s Morris named to WSSAA Hall of Fame

R.A. Long High School athletic director Ty Morris, who has been at the school for 30 years, was recently inducted into the Washington Secondary Schools Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame during the group’s 37th annual meeting.

Morris, who has been the RAL athletic director since 1984, was named the national athletic director of the year in 1999. He’s also served in a variety of leadership capacities at the league, district, state and national levels.

Florida schools cut games as cost-saving measureThe Florida High School Athletic Association’s board of directors recently voted 9-6 to cut the number of varsity games by 20 percent for the next two years as a way for school districts to save money.

In addition to paring back varsity games in all sports except football, sub-varsity schedules will be shaved back 40 percent. It’s estimated the shortened schedules will save Florida schools millions of dollars annually.

“It’s written in the proposal to have a sunset after two years. That’s it. We really mean two years,” FHSAA board president Greg Zornes said in a statement. “We fully intend to restore what we had until today at the end of the two-year period.”

The rule change was designed to cut costs for Florida high school athletic departments, which are facing tough budget constraints.

“These are unprecedented times,” Zornes said. “People are losing their jobs as schools are cutting millions and millions of dollars from their budgets. Our job is to look out for all the schools.”

Hermiston, Pendleton to play in East Metro League?

If the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) has its way, Hermiston and Pendleton high schools will compete in the new Class 5A East Metro League beginning in the 2010-11 school year.

Athletic directors from Hermiston and Pendleton favor the idea, but representatives from the proposed league’s other schools aren’t as receptive because of the 400-mile round trips for league games in eastern Oregon.

The OSAA presented a first draft proposal that placed Hermiston and Pendleton in a central Oregon hybrid league with Class 5A, 4A and 3A schools, along with a second draft that would place each school in a Class 5A East Metro League that includes Putnam, Milwaukie, Sandy, Parkrose, Hood River Valley and The Dalles-Wahtonka.

Athletic administrators from both Hermiston and Pendleton rejected the proposal to join the eastern Oregon league because of scheduling, competitive balance and travel.

Hermiston AD Mike McKay noted a bus trip to central Oregon costs about $800, while a trip to an East Metro League school would cost about $450. He noted it would also save about $18,000 annually in lodging on overnight trips to central Oregon.

But the other schools in the new league aren’t as receptive to the idea of Hermiston and Pendleton joining the league.

“We have well over 80 schools in the metropolitan area that we could easily play in a very short distance,” Putnam athletic director Dan Barendse told The Oregonian. “Given where our school is, we feel like we don’t have to travel. We live here so families can get to games after work. That’s all part of living in the metro area.”

The OSAA will hear testimony and make recommendations at its next meeting on May 11.

Oregon prep softball adjusts to 43-foot pitching distance

Oregon has become the second state to receive National Federation of High School Softball to experiment with extending the distance from the pitching rubber to home plate from 40 to 43 feet in all prep softball games.

This season is the first in a three-year trial for the new distance, which was credited with boosting offense when it was adopted in Florida three years ago.

During the last three years in Florida, the extended distance has led to an increase in runs (6.26 to 9.75), hits (10.86 to 12.11) and walks (3.83 to 5.29), and a significant decrease in strikeouts (13.75 to 10.31). Doubles also increased 32 percent, and home run output was increased 19 percent.

The 43-foot distance also allows batters more time to see pitches from hard throwers, and it improves the short game for bunting and stealing bases.

Prep softball pitchers in Washington continue to pitch to batters from 40 feet. The 43-foot length is used in college and in the Gold division of the Amateur Softball Association.