A day after the Florida High School Athletics Association rescinded its decision to cut games, those in charge of scheduling high school events in South Florida were upset by the timing of the reversal.

The decision, made in response to a federal lawsuit filed by parents citing Title IX gender equity laws, has sent tournament organizers and county athletic governing bodies on a new quest -- to build a winter schedule with no clear guidelines in place.

''Nobody knows what they can and can't do,'' said Jim Reilly, who runs the annual Kreul Classic basketball tournament in Broward. ``Teams are committing to tournaments and dates, then changing because of the first ruling, and now they reverse it.''

The ruling also allowed local school districts to govern schedules, placing the onus on governing bodies such as the Greater Miami Athletic Conference and the Broward County Athletics Association. The decision has renewed talk of a mythical ''super conference'' in South Florida composed of Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

''It would work great. As it stands we make the money, we pack the stadiums,'' BCAA commissioner Damian Huttenhoff said.

In the midst of a statewide budget crunch, Huttenhoff wonders where the FHSAA plans to save. For South Florida schools -- some of the poorest in the state that also produce most of the revenue -- the biggest cost is travel.

''We were packed when we had the track and field championships at Coral Springs; we made money when we had soccer [championships] at Lockhart [Stadium in Fort Lauderdale],'' Huttenhoff said. ``But cheerleading championships in Tallahassee? Come on. Are they [FHSAA] going to help pay for that?

``To me, cutting the games is a more advantageous model than cutting programs.''

The fall sports schedules for Miami-Dade and Broward counties are in place and available on FHSAA.org, but the GMAC and BCAA will not begin work on winter schedules until August.

Huttenhoff echoed disappointment voiced by coaches over the FHSAA's lack of vision and goals.

''The FHSAA has been a regulatory agency instead of a proactive agency. They have to change their total model,'' Huttenhoff said.

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