What is the Vine Valley Athletic League?

Sonoma Valley’s new league pits the Dragons agains 3 Napa teams, 3 other Sonoma County teams.|

With the coming of the 2018-2019 school year, the Sonoma Valley High School Dragons will find themselves facing a new set of rivals in prep sports, as they join the newly-formed Vine Valley Athletic League.

The league was formed last year when the CIF North Coast Section board of managers voted unanimously in early October to approve a proposal to group Napa, Vintage, American Canyon, Justin-Siena, Sonoma Valley, Petaluma and Casa Grande-Petaluma into a league together starting with the 2018-19 school year.

Many traditional Dragon rivals are missing from this new league, including Maria Carrillo, El Molino, Healdsburg, Windsor, Analy and Piner.

The name Vine Valley was chosen in December, over several other possibilities including the Sonoma-Napa league. All the participating high schools are either in Napa or Sonoma County. They will compete as members of the North Coast Section.

The new league, VVAL, will offer competition in six fall sports, including cross country, football, girls golf and girls tennis, volleyball and water polo.

Winter sports will include girls and boys basketball, boys and girls soccer, and wrestling.

Spring sports are baseball, boys golf, boys badminton and tennis, both girls and boys lacrosse, softball, swimming, and track and field.

Two of the signature fall sports include varsity football, which begins Sept. 14 with a game in Napa against the Indians. Cross country competition begins with a VVAL meet at Maxwell Park on Sept. 26.

The new league’s website lists schedules and other information, at www.vval.org.

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