Combined Efforts Brought Back Western Mass
Feb. 13,
2013 |
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By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.com
GREATER SPRINGFIELD – After a long, hard-fought battle, Western Massachusetts swimmers had the opportunity to compete in a sectional event this week, despite the fact that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) cancelled all sectionals scheduled for Feb. 9 because of the weekend snowstorm.
Outrage turned to positive action as swimmers, coaches, athletic directors and supporters rallied, writing letters, calling officials and even a social media drive with the Twitter hashtag #BringBackWesternMass that drew support from Olympians Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin and Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' longtime coach.
As a result, Minnechaug Regional High School Athletic Director and swimming tournament director for Western Massachusetts Michael Roy was able to announce non-MIAA sanctioned sectional championships – the girls on Feb. 11 at Westfield High School the boys on Feb. 12 at Chicopee High School.
The MIAA said that they would allow a meet to go on, but they would not sponsor it and the times would not count toward qualifications for the state championship.
"It's great," Roy said after the girls' meet. "Yesterday made all of the work so worth it. The kids were so excited and it was a great meet and that's what we did it for.
"We had some great competition and that was with the kids knowing that their times weren't going to improve their chances at states. I think it really proved just how important this meet is to these kids," he continued.
After cancelling the event on Feb. 7, the MIAA had released a statement on Feb. 8 explaining that safety and lack of pool availability were the two major issues confronting the rescheduling of sectional meets. While Western Massachusetts officials has made sure to secure Springfield College for Feb. 9 in case of inclement weather, the MIAA cited that a lack of parking at the school, as well as the notion that it would be unfair to allow swimmers from one area compete while others could not would be unfair.
Jim Hirtle, Northampton high school girls swimming coach and coaches' representative to the MIAA Swim Committee, also explained that without MIAA sponsorship, there was no insurance for a meet at Springfield College.
Roy said he understood the reasoning, but the lack of communication was a major problem.
"I think if they had just come out and said this immediately, people wouldn't have been sitting there wondering why," he said. "I think it's good that they cleared up some questions, but I think the fact that they waited has affected their public perception."
Others were not so understanding, including Minnechaug head coach Erik Mandell, whose boys' team was preparing to officially defend its sectional championship.
"The fact that Eastern Massachusetts does not have the venues to host their sectional meets, or they didn't explore all of the options, or didn't care to because those meets are just not that important to them, is not our concern in the West," he said. "We have the venue, and the athletes, officials and other meet personnel are ready to go."
On the day of the girls' meet the swimmers got more encouraging news.
Because the meets are not MIAA events, the times recorded in that meet would not count toward qualifying for the state meets slated to take place this weekend. However, the MIAA announced on Feb. 11 that it would allow all swimmers that qualified for sectional championships to compete at states.
In a statement to coaches, the MIAA said, "The concerns forwarded by some of our school leaders in response to the cancellation of Sectional Swim Tournaments have caused further consideration of the conclusions of [Feb. 7 and 8]. With the support of our Swim Committee/tournament leadership, we will be entering all of your individual swimmers as they were listed on the psych sheets for this past weekend's Sectional Tournaments."
Roy said that while it took a minute for the news to sink in, the reaction was generally positive.
"When I first told them, I don't think they knew what I was saying. I thought when I told them the place would explode," he said. "But after a while of explaining it to them and they understood, they were very excited."
The MIAA acknowledged that the decision would cause some logistical issues, including space for spectators, especially at the girls' Division 1 and 2 championships at Springfield College, but said they would work with tournament officials to alleviate those issues.
The decision was a bit of a reversal from the MIAA's original position in a Feb. 8 statement that explained that such a move would be impractical, stating, "Consideration was given to inviting all sectional qualifiers to participate in the state championships. As that option was considered, it was clear that the logistics presented could not be overcome. During this winter season, more than 1,000 students already have achieved their State qualifying standard and will participate next weekend, making the addition of 100s of students impractical."
Roy added that he told the swimmers that their efforts showed that the right kind of action can make positive things happen.
"I told [the swimmers] that I believe that their grassroots effort really got the attention of the state and got them to look into this and say, 'OK, what can we do here?'" he said.
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