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CHSAA Begins 89th Winter Season of High School Activities

Winter Sports Practices Start November 12; Contests start December 1

Aurora, Colo. -- For 88 years, the Colorado High School Activities Association’s has sanctioned high school athletics and the winter sports season practices begin formally on Saturday, November 12.

“There are few, if any, days like the first day of practice in the life of a young person. November 12 marks the 88th time students around the state have gathered to prepare for the winter sports season. It is a time of excitement and anticipation for the players, coaches and fans," CHSAA Commissioner Bill Reader said.

Teams may hold their first scrimmage on November 18 and the first contests may begin on December 1. The state basketball tournament is slated for March 10-14, wrestling for February 18-20, skiing for February 18-19, ice hockey for February 27 and girls swimming for February 12-13.

(Please note that a complete CHSAA championship schedule was distributed at the beginning of the year. Additional information on each championship will be forwarded as the playoffs near.)

In May, 1921, a group of superintendents and principals met in Boulder and organized the Colorado High School Athletic Conference. The purpose of this organization was to better regulate and develop the interscholastic school athletic program. There were nine leagues by the time the first constitution was published, including the Northern, North Central, Western Slope, Suburban, Southeastern, Arkansas Valley, South Central and San Juan Basin leagues.

The first champions crowned that school year were Greeley in basketball, Colorado Springs in football and Fort Collins in track and field. In 1924, the Colorado High School Athletic Conference joined the National Federation of State High School Associations and has remained an active member of that organization ever since. Loveland’s R.W. Truscott was the Association’s first president and Eaton’s J.C. Casey its first secretary (commissioner). Truscott replaced Casey as secretary in December, 1926 and held that post until July, 1948 when Glenn T. Wilson became commissioner. Ray C. Ball took over the commissioner’s post in 1966 and remained in the office until August, 1986 when Ray Plutko assumed the duties. Bob Ottewill became the Association’s sixth commissioner in July, 1990 and Bill Reader the organization’s seventh commissioner in July 2002.

The CHSAA has had 57 presidents dating back to 1921. Its current president, Widefield High School athletic director Shelli Miles is completing the first year of a two-year term this school year. The Association enters the season with a seasoned collection veteran administrator. Bethany Schott and Harry Waterman enter their second year with CHSAA, while Rhonda Blanford-Green is entering her 14th year as an Assistant Commissioner with the Association. Commissioner Bill Reader is in his 22^nd year with the CHSAA, while Associate Commissioner Paul Angelico is entering his 20^th year and Assistant Commissioners Bert Borgmann and Tom Robinson are in their 22^nd and 15th years, respectively, on the administrative staff.

Additional information is listed on the following chart.

Defending State Champions and First State Champions

Sport	1A	2A	3A	4A	5A	First Champ*
Baseball	Granada	Custer County	Eaton	Cheyenne Mtn.	Rocky Mountain	P. Central (’51)
B. Basketball	Caliche	Colo. Spgs. Sch.	Faith Christian	Sierra	Regis Jesuit	Greeley (’22)
G. Basketball	McClave	Wray	Holy Family	Broomfield	Regis Jesuit	Golden (’76)
B. Cr. Country	XX	Rocky Ford	Classical Acad.	Falcon	Cherry Creek	Boulder (’51)
G. Cr. Country	XX	Nederland	Classical Acad.	Thompson Vy.	Ft. Collins	P. East (’78)
Field Hockey	XX	XX	XX	XX	St. Mary’s Acad.	Colo. Acad. (’97)
Football	Akron	Olathe	Glenwood Spgs.	Wheat Ridge	Mullen	Colo. Spgs. (’21)
	Hi-Plains (A6)	Dayspg. Chr (A8)
B. Golf	XX	XX	Kent Denver	D’Evelyn	Douglas Co.	D. East (’47)
G. Golf	XX	XX	XX	Rock Canyon	Skyline	Cherry Cr. (’90)
Gymnastics	XX	XX	XX	Evergreen	Green Mountain	B. Creek (’74)
Ice Hockey	XX	XX	XX	XX	Regis Jesuit	Littleton (’76)
B. Lacrosse	XX	XX	XX	XX	Arapahoe	Kent Den. (’99)
G. Lacrosse	XX	XX	XX	XX	Air Academy	Kent Den. (’98)
B. Skiing	XX	XX	XX	XX	Aspen	Middle Pk. (’65)
G. Skiing	XX	XX	XX	XX	Middle Park	Middle Pk. (’75)
B. Soccer	XX	XX	Hotchkiss	Rock Canyon	Denver East	Cherry Cr. (’75)
G. Soccer	XX	XX	St. Mary’s (CS)	Wheat Ridge	Chatfield	Arapahoe (’78)
G. Softball	XX	XX	Erie	Wheat Ridge	Legacy	Boulder (’87)
Spirit/Cheer	XX	Fr. Range Chr.	Buena Vista	Rock Canyon	Eaglecrest	Arapahoe (’91)
Spirit/Poms	XX	Limon	Weld Central	Rock Canyon	Mountain Vista	Gr. West (’92)
Spirit/Co-ed Ch.	XX	XX	XX	Valley (2A/3A)	Douglas Co. (4A/5A)	Widefield (’93)
Spirit/Jazz	XX	XX	XX	XX	Ponderosa	Heritage (’96)
B. Swimming	XX	XX	XX	Lewis-Palmer	Regis Jesuit	D. So/D. Ea. (’59)
G. Swimming	XX	XX	XX	Rock Canyon	Cherry Creek	Cherry Cr. (’74)
B. Tennis	XX	XX	XX	Kent Denver	Cherry Creek	P. Central (’27)
G. Tennis	XX	XX	XX	Cheyenne Mtn.	Cherry Creek	T Jefferson (’75)
B. Track	XX	Wray	Classical Acad.	Mullen	Littleton	Ft. Collins (’22)
G. Track	XX	Akron	Classical Acad.	Thompson Vy.	Littleton	F-Ft. Carson (’75)
G. Volleyball	Fleming	Fowler	CS Christian	Cheyenne Mtn.	Cherry Creek	Mitchell (’75)
Wrestling	XX	Paonia	Centauri	Brromfield	Ponderosa	Greeley (’36)

* = Large school champion listed.

CHSAA Administrative Staff and Major Assignments

Bill Reader, Commissioner (Local Association Organization Committee, Executive Committee, Board of Control, Budget, Hardship Waivers, Handbook, Legislature, Personnel)

Paul Angelico, Associate Commissioner (Gymnastics, Boys’ Lacrosse, Tennis, Speech, Coaching Registration, Skiing, Foreign Waivers, Merchandise Sales, Directory)

Bert Borgmann, Assistant Commissioner (Baseball, Basketball, Softball, Boys’ Soccer, Hall of Fame, Media Relations, Programs, Records/Championship Results)

Rhonda Blanford-Green, Assistant Commissioner (Cross Country, Ice Hockey, Spirit, Track & Field, Corporate Relations, Equity/Title IX Coordinator, Recognition Programs, Academic Team/All-State)

Tom Robinson, Assistant Commissioner (Golf, Officials, Officials’ Fees Committee, Sporting-like Behavior, Officials’ Organizations)

Bethany Schott, Assistant Commissioner (Field Hockey, Music, Swimming, Volleyball, Cooperative Programs, Participation Survey, Girls’ Lacrosse)

Harry Waterman, Assistant Commissioner (Football, Girls’ Soccer, Wrestling, Student Council, Athletic Directors Association Liaison, Playoff Sites)