There are some things going on that many of you may not be aware of. Some have already happened. Some are on the brink.
There is a movement afoot to take away a week of Cross Country season as well. Apparently, the soccer coaches have been lobbying quite heavily to have the State Meet moved up a week. They don't want their soccer players running in the State Meet on the same day as a soccer regional. A much easier solution would be to hold soccer regionals on Thursday, just like Cross Country regionals are done. The soccer regional semi-finals are held on Tuesday. Regional finals could be held on Thursday. Problem solved...and with no need to take a week away from an entire sport. Another reasonable solution is to leave things the way they are and just make the kid choose. There is nothing wrong with a kid choosing to participate in one sport per season rather than two.
Cross Country coaches need to unite. They need to make their feeling known. A week of our season is in jeopardy, and we must make our voices heard. We could lose a week of our season to accomodate the very few who elect to participate in both sports. According to the WVSSAC Participation Survey, nearly 1400 kids participated in Cross Country during the 2002-2003 school year. How many of those competed in both Cross Country and soccer? 10? 20? Is it worth shortening a season for 1400 kids to accomodate 20? I don't think it is. Let's also keep in mind that are runners are already at a disadvantage when it comes to competing in Regional and National Level Meets due to the early end to our season. Two weeks already lapse between the State Cross Country Meet and the Mideast Meet of Champions. Four weeks lapse between the State Cross Country Meet and the Footlocker South Regional. This is time that the athletes who are looking to excel and compete at this level are not permitted to train with their coach. The proposal that has been made would increase that time by yet another week. It should not happen, and the Cross Country Coaches and in particular, the Cross Country Coaches' Committee, needs to do everything they can to prevent it.
Concerned parties should contact Butch Powell at the WVSSAC Office. The telephone number at the WVSSAC is (304)485-5494. The fax number is (304)428-5431. The mailing address is 2875 Staunton Turnpike, Parkersburg, WV 26104-7219. I have been unable to find his e-mail address on the WVSSAC site. I would assume it to be Butch.Powell@wvssac.org. However, it should be noted that the WVSSAC website states that they will not respond to e-mails.
Oh, but there's more. You may not be aware that we have already lost a week of Track & Field. The State Meet has been moved up a week so that it will not conflict with the graduation ceremonies of a few schools. That's right. One week was taken from everyone for the benefit of ten or fifteen. The schools refused to hold their graduation ceremonies on Sunday or even on Saturday night, where it would not conflict with the State Meet. The WVSSAC Participation Survey shows that over 4,700 athletes participated in Track & Field during the 2002-2003 school year. So, it's fair to say that 4,700 athletes are having a week of their sport stolen from them to accomodate 15 or 20 people. The State Meet is scheduled years in advance. Schools continuing to hold their graduation ceremonies at the same time show a disregard to the athletes who are representing the school. When the schools need to set a time for their graduation ceremonies, they only need to look at the WVSSAC calendar of events to see if it conflicts with any other major events. They neglect to do so, and the athletes are punished as a result. I believe that graduation is an important event, but so is representing your school and your team at the State Championship venue. For schools to refuse year-after-year to schedule around an event that they knew about well in advance is irresponsible. Further compounding my bewilderment at why the State Track meet has been moved up is that the State Softball Tournament remains scheduled for the same weekend. Why is it acceptable for one sport to conflict with graduation ceremonies and not another? Somehow, I don't imagine this would have happened to football or basketball.