The eligibility committee of the athletic association in Washington state ruled Wednesday, Jan. 8 that former Vancouver athlete Drew Urquhart is ineligible to play basketball at Seattle’s Eastside Catholic.
The committee upheld the decision of the school, whose president, also the head of school, made the initial decision regarding eligibility.
The Urquhart family can appeal the decision, which then means a hearing officer would sit down with everyone involved, including the school, family and their lawyers, before making a recommendation to the executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), Mike Colbrese, who then makes a final decision.
The school’s lawyer said the Urquharts had five days to file an appeal.
I've dedicated a fair amount of coverage to this story because Drew was a prominent player in B.C. whose star shone even brighter when his family moved to Vancouver so he could pursue his athletic career. He has since committed to play for the NCAA Div. 1 University of Vermont, realizing an ambition of thousands of Canadian teens.
He had is mind set on attending Eastside Catholic by the spring of 2012 but instead of moving to the U.S. at 16 years old, enrolled at St. George’s, a private school much like the American prep schools that can funnel money, coaches and other resources into sports. Lucky them.
Drew wanted an American academic and athletic experience in his graduating year so he could make the best possible transition to NCAA competition.
In the meantime, he stayed at Saints for one season and then followed through on his plan to play in the U.S.
Drew has come under fire for not staying in Kelowna to play at the high school he’d have attended after middle school. And then he put up with the same you-betrayed-us accusations when he left St. George’s. His critics say he is using schools to advance his career and no one likes to be played. But Drew has talent to trade.
Schools, such as St. George’s and others like White Rock Christian Academy, draw from the region — the province, really — and aren’t hindered by catchment restrictions that apply to public schools. They have an advantage in this transfer game.
Drew, one of the most promising basketball players of his class, applied for financial assistance at St. George’s and got it. Recruitment is not allowed and I’m certainly not implying that happened in this or any other case, but some schools have other muscles to flex.
Saints likely would have been a top 5 AAAA team this year if Drew were still in their uniform. Of his would-be Kelowna team, who knows what was possible. Instead, he’s benched.
Eastside Catholic faces strict (and enforced) WIAA eligibility restrictions. If B.C. athletes believe their transfers aren’t scrutinized, they should consider the fact Drew is not able to play the sport he loves in his final year of high school.
I also want to expand the story we ran in the Jan. 8 issue that reported Sister Mary Tracy was absent from the first day of hearing on Monday. I was unable to reach the school before deadline but have since heard from their lawyer and learned he was present to answer questions and that Tracy had submitted a sworn statement.
The lawyer for Eastside Catholic, Don Austin, said this is a case of people trying to do the right thing, not realizing rules didn't allow it.
