THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995              TAG: 9502240210
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS      PAGE: 22   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

MINIMUM GPA TO IMPACT ATHLETES IF NEW GUIDELINE WERE IMPOSED NOW, LARGE CONTINGENT WOULD BE INELIGIBLE

IT WILL TAKE a little more classroom savvy for high school students in Portsmouth to play athletics in the 1995-96 school year.

And it could mean Portsmouth teams will be operating shorthanded.

The school board raised its minimum grade-point average requirements to participate in extracurricular activities, which includes athletics, to 1.30 this school year. The GPA must be 1.70 by September and 2.0 by September 1996.

Several coaches have expressed concern that, based upon the latest grading period, nearly one-fourth of the athletes in the city will not be eligible. Two teams would lose more than one-third of their players.

When Portsmouth raised its eligibility requirement to 1.3 at the start of the current school year, it was reported that about 17 percent of the ninth through 12th-graders had a grade-point average below 1.31.

One coach contends there probably are 25 percent or more below the 1.70 standard.

``A student with five Cs and one F will not be eligible,'' he pointed out. ``From what I see, this is going to have a major impact on high school sports in Portsmouth next year.''

Under the Virginia High School League requirements, this student would be eligible. He/she would be eligible to play in Chesapeake.

The VHSL requires students to pass five subjects. Students with six classes can fail one and still participate by VHSL requirements.

Some coaches are hopeful the school board will consider a ``probationary status'' for the first six weeks of each semester. Instead of becoming ineligible, a student below the minimum requirement would have an opportunity to improve without being deprived of extracurricular activities, which also includes cheerleading, singing in the chorus or playing in the band.

This was done in Suffolk last year when it began a 2.0 minimum grade-point average rule.

In urging the probation period, Nansemond River High School football coach Jerry Varacallo told the Suffolk school board that many students had begun to shun more rigorous, college-preparatory classes to meet the 2.0 requirement.

Eligibility in Portsmouth for 1995-96 will be determined by the final grades in June. If, as a result of attending summer school, an ineligible student can attain a 1.70 overall mark, he/she will be eligible in the fall. by CNB