The Georgia High School Association held its spring executive committee meeting Monday in Macon, and most of the decisions made will not greatly impact northwest Georgia schools.
There were, however, a few proposals that passed that will affect the area. In football, beginning in 2017, teams that participate in spring practice will be allowed to have a scrimmage against another school in place of the final (10th) practice.
For schools like Ringgold that have elected not to hold spring practice in order to have two preseason scrimmages, the proposal offers a nice option.
"I like that. That's one of those things that will help you," Ringgold football coach and athletic director Robert Akins said. "It will depend on what kind of spring you can have. How many baseball players are out?
"I'm just thankful they are giving us options. You can still scrimmage in the fall after one in the spring. It would also give the kids a break from pounding all the weights. For us, we will have to weigh it out every year."
Akins is also in favor of another football change that will limit schools to participating in three summer contact camps and a total of eight days starting this summer. There currently is no limit.
"The summer camps were kind of getting out of hand," Akins said. "I'm thankful for the limitations on that. It's a smart thing they've done, especially with the concussion issue. They had to place some limits to protect the kids. Coaches are so intent on winning that sometimes we forget about kids' safety."
A proposal to expand the playoff field from 24 to 32 teams in Class A was tabled, meaning it isn't dead and will be discussed further.
Also Monday, the GHSA passed a proposal to allow schools to participate in slowpitch softball beginning in the spring of 2017. Schools will have to gauge interest among students and will have to find coaches and the money to pay them before new teams are formed.
"We haven't discussed that yet," Dalton athletic director Jeff McKinney said. "There are so many sports in the spring that I'm not really sure how much interest we'll have. A lot has to happen first."
Added Akins: "I don't know that many fastpitch girls will play slowpitch, because it might mess up their swings. You've got to find coaches to coach it, and we're stretched thin right now. Our county would have to make some decisions about coaching supplements first, and then we can make a decision."
Also in softball the number of regular-season games will be limited to 26, down from 28. However, region and state tournament games do not count toward the limit. A proposal to cut the number of teams per classification competing in Columbus at the state championships from eight to four was voted down.
Baseball teams will be allowed to play 30 games in the regular season and including region tournaments. To reach 30, teams must play two doubleheaders on non-school days.
In basketball, the GHSA voted to return its state quarterfinal games to home sites, with higher-seeded schools hosting. The round was held in conjunction with the semifinals at college sites this past season. There was no ruling on a new site for the state championships, though executive director Gary Phillips said a decision should come this summer after issues marred this year's finals at the Macon Centreplex.
All three wrestling proposals were denied by the committee and not sent to a vote, including one that would combine certain classifications to form five state championships instead of what will now be eight with the inclusion of the new Class 7A.
Another would have created a championship tournament following the state traditional tournament that would include the top three finishers in each weight class in each classification competing for "true" state championships.
A proposal to combine soccer championships to produce six titles also was voted down.
In swimming, there will now be two state championships, one for Classes A through AAAAA and one for 6A and 7A. It's a move the successful program at Dalton supports.
"We will be moving up a classification and competing with 7A schools, but this might be a better fit for our school," McKinney said. "We won't be competing against as many private schools."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.