Cascade Conference Monitoring Air Quality and Impact on Athletic Contests
LA GRANDE, Ore. – With continued wildfires and accompanying smoke affecting much of the geographical footprint where Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) schools are located, the league office is monitoring the air quality and its possible impact on contests, Commissioner Robert Cashell announced.
“While we are still over a week out from beginning the men’s and women’s soccer league schedule (Sept. 15-16) we want to be prepared,” said Cashell. “When you are talking about moving teams over a four state region (Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana) we want to minimize any unnecessary travel or costs if the air quality is such that we need to adjust schedules.”
CCC volleyball started last weekend but with portions of I-84 closed due to the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge traffic is being rerouted from the Portland metro area through highways 26 and 197 to connect back up to I-84. Warner Pacific College and Multnomah University will make the trek east this week for volleyball matches against Walla Walla University, Eastern Oregon University and The College of Idaho.
Men’s and Women’s Golf is still scheduled to start CCC action Sept. 11-12 at the Oregon Tech Tournament in Klamath Falls. The other fall sports of men’s and women’s cross country could be impacted by early meet cancellations as teams are required to participate in a minimum of four meets prior to the CCC Championships in order to be eligible for any at large bids to the NAIA National Cross Country Championships.
Numerous non-conference events have already been cancelled in the previous weeks due to air quality. For changes to schedules and updates fans can view at
cascadeconference.org.