SCIAC regulations change

by Amanda Egan
News Editor

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has altered its strict out-of-season practice guidelines to more closely adhere to the National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations.

In the past the athletic teams in the conference were not allowed to practice out of season as a team, but were allowed a limited number of individual workouts with the coach.

The new rules say that athletic teams in SCIAC are allowed to practice as a group for a maximum of six hours a week, split into three days for five weeks. However, the hours count separately for each athlete.

“The five weeks makes a big difference. We have a chance to get in better physical condition and keep our injuries down,” head baseball coach Scott Winterburn said.

The workouts are voluntary; therefore a student may miss a practice for class and make up their hours individually with the coach as long as they do not exceed six hours during the week. There is no competition allowed during this time. These are not NCAA rules, they are rules created by SCIAC.

“These rules are still stricter than NCAA rules,” said Kelly Beck, SCIAC sports information director.

According to the 2003-04 NCAA Division III Manual, athletic teams are allowed 21 weeks including their pre-season and regular season to be involved in their sport. However, the time of year that the team competes plays a factor in when they can practice.

All sports, excluding fall sports, can begin working out and competing on Sept. 7 or the first day of classes. These workouts are limited to the amount of weeks a team has left in the 21-week time frame from their regular season participation.

“When we face teams out of our regular season schedule it shows that they have been practicing,” junior softball and soccer player A.J. Taggart said. “The more you practice, the better you can be.”

On average, a team following NCAA guidelines will have approximately 10-11 weeks to prepare.

“The majority of Division III conferences follow the NCAA rules,” Beck said.

If a team participates in the fall, the amount of practice time varies.

Football is allowed 25 practices, soccer is allowed 15 practices, women’s volleyball is allowed 16 practices and men’s water polo is allowed 21 practices before Sept. 1.

“Teams that follow NCAA regulations have a little bit of an advantage over the SCIAC teams,” Beck said.

La Verne is likely to face teams in their pre-season and playoffs that have been practicing for at least two months.

With the new SCIAC rules, La Verne has the opportunity to practice for five weeks before their first official practice.

“It is still not enough, but it is better than nothing,” Taggart said.

Most of the athletic teams at ULV are taking advantage of the new guidelines and practicing out of season.

“We can become closer as a team during those weeks,” Winterburn said.