This is frustrating me to no end. The Oregon Student Activities Association, which governs high school sports in Oregon, is preparing to expand from 4 classes of teams to six, which, among other things, will tear apart the largest divisions in the state, including the 100 year old Portland Interscholastic League, all because of reasons that would be better addressed through selective changes.
Read here for background on the issue: What's at stake
Read here for what schools will end up in what class: Changes
Read here for Oregonian columnist Ken Goe's attack on the proposal:
Prep reclassification
And here is an article I wrote about the issue:
OSAA’s realignment will shatter traditions and rivalries
Progress is good; inertia is bad. That is the message the Oregon Student Activities Association is trying to get across as it pushes forward with its plan to expand Oregon high school sports from four classes to six. The ostensible goal of this plan is to save money on transportation costs for rural and suburban schools, and to level the playing field by achieving closer school size parity within districts. Although the goal is admirable, the methods and effects of the proposed realignment will irrevocably harm high school sports in Oregon.
In April, over 80 percent of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association voted for less grandiose revisions than the OSAA had in mind; in fact, 17 of the 32 votes for the 6A plan came from the Class IA schools that would be least affected. Everyone else overwhelmingly supported a 5A plan with two divisions within 5A for larger schools. Above all, the athletic directors sought to avoid tearing apart the long-standing sports leagues, including the Portland Interscholastic League.
The OSAA would choose to rip leagues like the PIL apart without a second thought, due to a belief that in order to save money and increase competition for some schools, every school must be radically altered. Grant and Wilson would join Metro League teams, normally only the rarest of non-league rivals, in 6A. Every other PIL school except for Roosevelt and Jefferson would go to 5A; the Roughriders and the Demos, condemned to 4A, have already announced that they plan to play in 5A.
Another large problem with the plan is the shrinking districts it creates. In order to save money on transportation by creating smaller and more localized districts, an issue that some athletic directors dispute is even going to save money for many schools, the OSAA has created numerous 5-school districts, where 60 percent of each district will qualify for the playoffs—in attempting to improve competition, the OSAA is cheapening it.
This isn’t the equivalent of the Seattle Mariners joining the National League; this is the equivalent of moving to a Japanese division—that is how much the traditional rivalries and divisions mean to high schools where everything else, most significantly the students, are a constantly changing facet.
It is always important to think of fairness and nickels and dimes when discussing high school sports, but it is even more crucial to consider essential traditions that stimulate fan bases, motivate rivalries, and bring 21 year old graduates like myself back to cheer on something recognizable years later. At a time when school districts are unable to guarantee support for programs from year to year, traditions and rivalries gain so much more significance. The money problem is essentially one of large-scale funding questions; minor changes to transportation costs alone will have little effect in the long run.
If change is needed for schools in certain districts or classes, let the improvement be done in a selective manner that helps without hurting. For the OSAA to claim that they have found the best option in the face of stiff opposition is for them to willingly blind themselves to the nature and realities of high school athletics.
The OSAA has the right to act as it plans to, in contravention of the wishes of most school athletic directors, but the right to act does not mean that action should be taken as one sees fit. The Grant Generals, my alma mater, should not be forced to leave behind all its old rivalries and traditions. High school is not the time to prioritize professionalism over fun, teamwork, and good old grudge matches. The OSAA needs to let a little democracy in, listen to the schools, and change its mind on realignment before its decision-making meeting in September.
Read here for background on the issue: What's at stake
Read here for what schools will end up in what class: Changes
Read here for Oregonian columnist Ken Goe's attack on the proposal:
Prep reclassification
And here is an article I wrote about the issue:
OSAA’s realignment will shatter traditions and rivalries
Progress is good; inertia is bad. That is the message the Oregon Student Activities Association is trying to get across as it pushes forward with its plan to expand Oregon high school sports from four classes to six. The ostensible goal of this plan is to save money on transportation costs for rural and suburban schools, and to level the playing field by achieving closer school size parity within districts. Although the goal is admirable, the methods and effects of the proposed realignment will irrevocably harm high school sports in Oregon.
In April, over 80 percent of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association voted for less grandiose revisions than the OSAA had in mind; in fact, 17 of the 32 votes for the 6A plan came from the Class IA schools that would be least affected. Everyone else overwhelmingly supported a 5A plan with two divisions within 5A for larger schools. Above all, the athletic directors sought to avoid tearing apart the long-standing sports leagues, including the Portland Interscholastic League.
The OSAA would choose to rip leagues like the PIL apart without a second thought, due to a belief that in order to save money and increase competition for some schools, every school must be radically altered. Grant and Wilson would join Metro League teams, normally only the rarest of non-league rivals, in 6A. Every other PIL school except for Roosevelt and Jefferson would go to 5A; the Roughriders and the Demos, condemned to 4A, have already announced that they plan to play in 5A.
Another large problem with the plan is the shrinking districts it creates. In order to save money on transportation by creating smaller and more localized districts, an issue that some athletic directors dispute is even going to save money for many schools, the OSAA has created numerous 5-school districts, where 60 percent of each district will qualify for the playoffs—in attempting to improve competition, the OSAA is cheapening it.
This isn’t the equivalent of the Seattle Mariners joining the National League; this is the equivalent of moving to a Japanese division—that is how much the traditional rivalries and divisions mean to high schools where everything else, most significantly the students, are a constantly changing facet.
It is always important to think of fairness and nickels and dimes when discussing high school sports, but it is even more crucial to consider essential traditions that stimulate fan bases, motivate rivalries, and bring 21 year old graduates like myself back to cheer on something recognizable years later. At a time when school districts are unable to guarantee support for programs from year to year, traditions and rivalries gain so much more significance. The money problem is essentially one of large-scale funding questions; minor changes to transportation costs alone will have little effect in the long run.
If change is needed for schools in certain districts or classes, let the improvement be done in a selective manner that helps without hurting. For the OSAA to claim that they have found the best option in the face of stiff opposition is for them to willingly blind themselves to the nature and realities of high school athletics.
The OSAA has the right to act as it plans to, in contravention of the wishes of most school athletic directors, but the right to act does not mean that action should be taken as one sees fit. The Grant Generals, my alma mater, should not be forced to leave behind all its old rivalries and traditions. High school is not the time to prioritize professionalism over fun, teamwork, and good old grudge matches. The OSAA needs to let a little democracy in, listen to the schools, and change its mind on realignment before its decision-making meeting in September.
posted by The Oracles @ 9:13 PM
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