It snowed nine inches at my house on February 1, 1990. That was before I was going to high school basketball games. But with the research I can see just how disruptive that was to local basketball tournaments. In 1990, the league Liberty was a part of, the Seamount, had three full weeks from the end of the season until the WIAA ‘draw date’. So tiebreakers, the league tournament, and the district tournament could spread across three weeks. Even as late at 2010, Kingco 3A likewise had three full weeks, 19 scheduleable dates (not counting Sundays) for tiebreakers, league, and district tournaments. Snow was not a problem.
In 2019, Kingco 3A (which is Liberty’s league but Liberty is not part of for tournaments), cut a full week away from the schedule decades ago. Instead of three weeks, the pre-state playoffs must complete in with 13 scheduleable dates.
In 2018 on the ‘bigweekend’ of district tournaments—Friday and Saturday—there were106 boys games and 111 girls games (a few league games in there). Some on Monday too. With the snow early last week, games were already being pushed toward the ‘big weekend’. Losing Friday, Saturday, and a lot of Monday, the deficit grows. Instead of 217 games only 37 games were played this year on the big weekend. Every district lost some district tournament games, even in districts where the tournament was able to continue. Big districts like Southwest,saw games in Ilwaco, where the weather was probably ‘nice enough’, canceled. Teams, and fans, couldn’t make the trip.
By last Friday, many district tournament had four days of games required to complete their tournament. Unless they can get in games today (Monday) there will be only one unused day left before the WIAA deadline. It isn’t a draw date anymore. No matchups to pull out of a hat in a roomful of anxious coaches. So no real need to complete by Sunday the 17th. The WIAA could relax their grip on the last two weeks of February and let district tournament games slide into the beginning of regional week.
There are more pre-state tournament games nowadays also. In 1990, with four classifications there were fewer district tournaments. Nearly 100 fewer playoff games before state for girls: 343 for 1990, 434 for 2018. So with only two weeks instead of three, the ‘density’ of tournament games is getting close to double what it was in 1990. Also in 1990 there were only two referees per game, now there are three, so the number of referees required is about three times what it was 29 years ago.
2016-2017 was an awful year for postponements. The southern third of the state had week after week of storms. The rest of the state had lots of postponements as well. The Northwest Conference season was curtailed. That happened to the Whitman County League back in 1988-89.