Friendly competition may bring new meaning to Highland next year. Region realignments for the 2015 through 2017 sports seasons were recently announced, and Highland’s athletes discovered they would get to compete against neighboring schools.

Putting high schools into regions and classifications is one of the most difficult jobs for the Utah High School Activities Association’s Board of Trustees. It took four hours of deliberation to create the projected new regions. However, they won’t be finalized until after a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 3^rd at the USHSAA offices in Midvale. During this hearing, schools can make cases for themselves about why they should be moved from their region/classification, or why they should remain. Many Highland students and families are familiar with this system, because of the fight to retain 4A status during the last realignment.

If regions and classifications remain as they were originally announced, Highland will belong to Region B of 4A schools. This region also includes East, Hillcrest, Kearns, Murray, Olympus, and Skyline. Significant rivalry between schools in the Highland area will be put to test during next year’s sports seasons. It has been years since Skyline, Olympus, East, and Highland have all been a part of the same region, and it is causing major buzz and excitement among students and athletes alike.

“I think it will be a great change,” junior football player Andrew Parkin said.

Parkin will be a senior when the new regions go into effect and is excited for the chances it will being to compete against friends from nearby schools.

“I think it will be fun playing everyone in our area- Skyline and Olympus. It will be fun and more competitive because we live so close to each other and see each other in the community… We know the people playing on the other teams so we’ll want to play harder,” Parkin said.

Friendly rivalry is definitely present in our area, and getting to play East, Olympus, and Skyline all during the regular season will be an exciting thrill that could even result in more student attendance at games as well as intensified competition for athletes.

Other athletes agreed with Parkin, and are excited about this change for next season.

“I’m a fan of the new region! It’s exciting to have things switched up. With East, Olympus, and Skyline, games are going to be even more fun. It’s always competitive playing against people you know,” junior basketball player Rick Schmidt said.

This new region will provide both familiar faces and refreshing competition for upcoming sports seasons.