So I understand we’ve had a bit of weather back in Clark County.
I wouldn’t know. I’ve been in Southern California the past week, helping out my parents.
When I left, I thought I’d be missing out on a busy weekend of prep postseason events.
As it turned out, most of those events were snowed out.
Now back on Friday, when everything was being rescheduled, the forecast for the coming week looked ominous. Frankly, it had me worried about making my flight back to the Northwest on Monday.
It had administrators and tournament directors coming up with alternative plans in the event more games got wiped off the schedule and tournaments could not be finished.
But now the forecast looks a lot less frightful, at least in Clark County where high temperatures are projected to be in the upper 30s for the next week, well above freezing.
Of course, that’s Clark County. This week’s games include teams from a wide geographic area where the forecast may not be as good.
Up in Tacoma, the thaw from this winter storm is expected to take a little longer. And in the gorge, folks there will teeter on the snow/rain boundary all week.
So when you hear about game postponements this week and you look outside the window to see only rain, remember it may be quite different someplace else.
The Class 2A and 1A district tournaments are schedule to resume on Monday and should be back on schedule in a couple of days.
The 4A and 3A bi-district tournaments, which include teams from Camas all the way up to Enumclaw, won’t resume until Tuesday. But those events are still scheduled to end on time on Saturday.
One notable change to the 4A tournament to note is that loser-out games for the Battle Ground boys and Skyview girls on Tuesday are being played in Olympia at 6 p.m. This is a departure from the regular schedule that had those games scheduled to be played further north.
I don’t know if that is weather related or not, or simply a reaction to complaints from Clark County teams, some of which logged more than 1,000 miles last year in competing in the bi-district tournament.
A drive to Olympia is a long one for Clark County teams, but certainly much easier than going to Tacoma, Puyallup or Auburn, especially if it means avoiding the traffic logjam that typically occurs around the military base just south of Tacoma.
And 6 p.m. tipoffs help sure teams return to Clark County around 10 p.m., instead of after midnight, which was often the case last year.
The state wrestling tournament will be expanded to 32-wrestler brackets from the normal 16 because so many regional tournaments were not able to be held.
The Mat Classic will still be held over Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma. The WIAA will announce the updated tournament schedule on Monday.
The state swimming championships will continue as scheduled on Friday and Saturday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
And the 4A and 3A district gymnastics meets will be held on Saturday at Northpointe gymnastics. The meet schedule for that event also will be announced on Monday.
And let’s hope the winter weather is behind us, because I don’t have another trip planned to California.
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep editor for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.
