The following is being distributed at the request of the Newfoundland Labrador High School Athletic Federation:

High school federation forced to cancel all tournaments

Effective Tuesday, October 9, the high school athletic federation will put all qualification and provincial tournaments on hold. The federation will not sponsor any events starting after October 8. The federation cannot, with the current situation in many of the province's schools, provide a level playing field for high school sports. Many student-athletes have been disadvantaged due to the ongoing labour dispute and have not had the opportunity to practice or compete to the same extent as student-athletes in other schools.

In keeping with our philosophy of sportsmanship in high school sports, the executive felt that in order to be fair to all student-athletes, our programs would not go ahead for some and not for all. The difficulty in communicating with and between schools, as well as the safety of students, were also factors in the decision.

An attempt was made by the federation this past week to sustain and reinstate programs. This proved to be very problematic and much too difficult to do. The province's volunteer teacher-coaches are not pleased with the position this current dispute has placed them in and hope a resolution will be forthcoming in the near future. When that happens, the federation executive will meet again to discuss the most appropriate course of action.

Media contact: Karen Richard, (709) 729-2795

N.L.H.S.A.F. contacts:

Mike Sutton, President                   (709) 364-3765 (H)
Kevin Pittman, Past-President         (709) 873-2660 (S)        (709) 873-2020 (H)
Karen Richard                                (709) 729-2795             (709) 437-1953 (H)