Downsizing? Gig Harbor likely to move down to 3A Division
The Tides’ offense returns to the sidelines in their 40-14 win at Fishbowl on September 4th.
Significant changes are occurring in the Narrows League, and specifically to Gig Harbor High. With changes in school enrollment, the divisions are shifting. Now, before we begin, it is important to note that the following scenarios listed below are very likely, but not certain. In January, we should know for sure what will occur.
Most people know that Gig Harbor High School is listed as 4A, which is the highest level a high school can be in terms of population for the state of Washington. For some time, our school has been the smallest of the 4A schools in the state, and the time may be up for the Tides at this tier.
With a large senior class leaving, six 3A schools, the level just below 4A, have a greater population than GHHS. This means that, though the school has a choice to opt to stay at 4A, it doesn’t look like we will.
What does this mean? Well, for starters, Sumner High School is moving up to the Narrows League, joining the 4A ranks. Both our school and Stadium will be leaving the Narrows League, departing from rivals like Bellarmine Prep and Olympia, and joining the South Puget Sound League (SPSL.)
This calls for good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad.
The Bellarmine/Gig Harbor rivalry will no longer be in effect, which is a disappointment for many, considering a good amount of Bellarmine students live in Gig Harbor. In addition, the 4A bragging rights will be lost, as we can only guess how our teams would fare at the top level in the state.
However, there is good news. The competition level should be less in 3A, which means greater success for our sports programs. And on top of that, we will be joining Peninsula High in the SPSL, who dropped down to 3A in 2001, making the Fish Bowl a league game again!
So, with this likely new change, GHHS students and proud supporters will have to take the good with the bad. And if you are really upset at the new classification, just remember that no classification is permanent. Should our school experience greater numbers of students in future classes, we may be able to return to the 4A level!
Thanks for reading and go Tides!
My name is Luke Tatum, and I am a freshman at Gig Harbor High School. From a young age, I knew that I enjoyed writing. I wrote some short stories in my...
I am a senior at Gig Harbor High School and this is my second year with Yearbook and Newspaper. Since a very early age, I have had a passion for writing....