DATE: Sunday, September 21, 1997            TAG: 9709190399

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 16   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  109 lines

VHSL WANTS CHANGES MADE IN GIRLS' SUIT THE LEAGUE HAS ASKED THE FEDERAL COURT TO DROP THE PORTION THAT DEALS WITH THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE.

The American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit on behalf of 11 Suffolk high school female athletes against the Virginia High School League may be altered.

The VHSL, charged with violating Title IX and the equal protection clause because the girls sports seasons are not aligned throughout the year and in all enrollment classifications the way the boys seasons are, has asked the federal court in Charlottesville to drop the portion of the complaint that deals with equal protection.

The equal protection clause states citizens be judged as individuals not as ``components of a racial, religious, sexual or national class.'' Title IX mandates equity among male and female athletes in a schools that receive federal funding.

VHSL attorney Jim Johnson said the league is asking for the change because the issue is over the girls sports being aligned; not whether they should be played in the same seasons as the boys sports.

The complaint was filed as a result of the VHSL reclassifying Nansemond River and Lakeland from the Group AA enrollment category to Group AAA last year. Group AA and AAA do not play certain girls sports in the same seasons. When the Suffolk schools changed classifications, some girls had to choose between sports because they were no longer being offered in the same season. Boys at Nansemond River and Lakeland were not forced into making choices because the boys sports calendar is the same in Group A, AA and AAA.

The sports specifically affected were tennis, volleyball and field hockey. In Group AA, field hockey is played in the fall, volleyball in the winter and tennis in the spring. In Group AAA, all three sports are played in the fall.

After the ALCU gives its response, which is due Monday, according to ACLU co-counsel Debbie Waters of Rutter and Montagna, a pretrial conference will be set.

``It's pretty much a waiting game,'' said Nansemond River assistant principal Kevin Alston.

Alston's daughter Ashley is one of the 11 plaintiffs named in the suit.

Here are the 11 Lakeland and Nansemond River athletes named in the suit.

Nansemond River Ashley Alston, junior

Played field hockey and tennis in Group AA. She gave up tennis last year and plays field hockey.

Catherine B.P. Butler, sophomore

Played field hockey, volleyball and softball in Group AA. Butler has given up volleyball to play field hockey and still plays softball in the spring.

Brooke K. Forbes, junior

Played volleyball and field hockey in Group AA. Forbes gave up volleyball last season to play field hockey in the fall and also plays soccer in the spring.

Megan Grady, junior

Played field hockey and tennis in Group AA. Grady has given up tennis to play field hockey.

Sarah Meinertzhagen, junior

Played field hockey, volleyball and soccer in Group AA. Meinertzhagen has given up volleyball to play field hockey and still plays soccer in the spring.

Lori Outlaw, junior

Played field hockey, volleyball and softball in Group AA. Outlaw gave up volleyball for field hockey and plays softball in the spring.

Rebecca E. Sherard, junior

Played field hockey and tennis in Group AA. Sherard has given up field hockey to play tennis and will also play soccer in the spring.

Melissa Ann Sklar, junior

Played volleyball, hockey and softball in Group AA. Sklar gave up volleyball to play field hockey and plays softball in the spring.

Anna E. Stevens, senior

Played volleyball and soccer and ran track and cross-country in Group AA. Stevens gave up volleyball to and run cross country in the fall and plays soccer in the spring.

Lakeland Carla King, junior

Played field hockey and tennis in Group AA. Last year, King gave up tennis to play field hockey and has decided to go back to tennis this season.

Julie Melkerson, junior

Played field hockey and tennis in Group AA. Last year, Melkerson gave up tennis to play field hockey and also plays soccer in the spring. ILLUSTRATION: Stevens

King

Melkerson

Meinertzhagen

Alston

Butler

Outlaw

Forbes

Grady

Sherard

Sklar

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