| Another Confusing Cody Column |
Who'll Stop The Rain?
Clouds of mystery pouring, confusion on the ground ...
If you are talking with your athletics director and he or she is feeling a bit grumpy
as of late, please understand.
The usual weather bug has definitely hit the area this year, just like any other year.
However, this year seems to be a mess – like most of our area's diamonds and
fields – when it comes to contest dates. Rescheduling contests can be a very
exhausting thing to accomplish, and that's especially true this year.
Our area's baseball, soccer, softball, tennis and track and field teams have had an
unusually large number of meets put aside. One area baseball team has had eight
canceled games. There may be more.
Just how bad is this year? Look at any river and try to recall the times they were
that high.
Inclement weather can put a damper on schedules. Schools try in vain to
reschedule conference or divsional games, and will sometimes eliminate out-of-
conference games to make it so.
That leaves out a good number of out-of-conference games. These particular
games are important because they provide for a clash of atmospheres and
philosophies. Where conference games are the same old song and dance, out-of-
conference games are the great unknown. Give them many different scenarios,
and they'll be exposed to many different scenarios they can look back at later in
life when something comes up.
They can also come in handy when preparing for a state tournament run. The
weather isn't make this happen so greatly.
So just put it here, right?
The task of rescheduling games is not as easy as it sounds.
Sure, there are open dates that are fitting to the particular team, but there are
several other factors that come to mind when trying to find a reschedule date.
First and foremost is the schedule of the other team, and teams. There needs to
be an open date that fits both teams' schedules. Plus, the open dates have to be
ones that are alright by the school.
Tomorrow – Good Friday – is the best example of this. All area schools are not in
session, and most schools refuse to schedule any athletic events for tomorrow. As
much as the cancellations have piled up, it's still not a good idea to toy with Good
Friday. Especially when people have already made plans in advance for the day.
Another, albeit less talked-about, argument is whether or not to play games on
Sunday. Several Chicagoland schools have had high school athletic events on
Sundays. So does that mean Sundays are alright for rescheduling purposes? Like
Good Friday, it's not a good idea to toy with Sundays – regardless of the
percentage of religious people on a team.
The second factor is the scheduling of IHSA officials. Baseball, soccer and softball
games cannot be held without an official present to supervise the game. There are
more complications in scheduling officials than there are finding open dates.
Some events need to have event personnel. This is a long grocery list that
includes dealing with groundskeepers for just about any sport except tennis,
scorekeepers and/or public address announcers, and the plentiful number of
volunteers to assist with track and field meets.
Oh, there are other factors added as well. Pitching rotations for baseball and
softball teams may need to be altered. Plus, for shared facilities, the reschedule
dates have to be okay-ed by the owners of the facility. That's just two of many
different scenarios.
Inclement weather can not only wreak havoc on the agendas of the athletics
directors, coaches and teams, but also the agendas of the fans and parents that
watch the games.
That visit to the grandparents' place may need to be put off. For the extremely
active student, conflicts for activities outside the sports team may need to be
debated. What takes priority over the other, and what does your absence mean to
the thing you're skipping?
Another area that is hit by inclement weather is the media. Sports staffs have to
press for finding out when reschedule dates are. How does that interfere with the
preset coverage agenda, for a staff of only so many people? For some stringers
(writers and photographers paid by the assignment), the usual paycheck may take
a hit because of a canceled date.
The effects trickle down horribly. Like rain.
On the subject of money, among the events that are big money makers for high
school athletic programs are track and field invitationals. Several of them have
been washed away.
Track and field invitationals are just about the only admission-charging events in a
regular season. They are also money makers for organizations that run the
concession stands and apparel shops.
Because track and field invitationals involve plenty of teams, it is even more
difficult to reschedule them for a future date – one that is not a school day. For
those teams that are invitational-heavy on their scheduling, cancellations can
create some sort of rust for future competition.
The weather is hard on so many people, and hopefully we can all realize how
others feel and deal with it.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns
about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat
(at) yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message Boards!
as of late, please understand.
The usual weather bug has definitely hit the area this year, just like any other year.
However, this year seems to be a mess – like most of our area's diamonds and
fields – when it comes to contest dates. Rescheduling contests can be a very
exhausting thing to accomplish, and that's especially true this year.
Our area's baseball, soccer, softball, tennis and track and field teams have had an
unusually large number of meets put aside. One area baseball team has had eight
canceled games. There may be more.
Just how bad is this year? Look at any river and try to recall the times they were
that high.
Inclement weather can put a damper on schedules. Schools try in vain to
reschedule conference or divsional games, and will sometimes eliminate out-of-
conference games to make it so.
That leaves out a good number of out-of-conference games. These particular
games are important because they provide for a clash of atmospheres and
philosophies. Where conference games are the same old song and dance, out-of-
conference games are the great unknown. Give them many different scenarios,
and they'll be exposed to many different scenarios they can look back at later in
life when something comes up.
They can also come in handy when preparing for a state tournament run. The
weather isn't make this happen so greatly.
So just put it here, right?
The task of rescheduling games is not as easy as it sounds.
Sure, there are open dates that are fitting to the particular team, but there are
several other factors that come to mind when trying to find a reschedule date.
First and foremost is the schedule of the other team, and teams. There needs to
be an open date that fits both teams' schedules. Plus, the open dates have to be
ones that are alright by the school.
Tomorrow – Good Friday – is the best example of this. All area schools are not in
session, and most schools refuse to schedule any athletic events for tomorrow. As
much as the cancellations have piled up, it's still not a good idea to toy with Good
Friday. Especially when people have already made plans in advance for the day.
Another, albeit less talked-about, argument is whether or not to play games on
Sunday. Several Chicagoland schools have had high school athletic events on
Sundays. So does that mean Sundays are alright for rescheduling purposes? Like
Good Friday, it's not a good idea to toy with Sundays – regardless of the
percentage of religious people on a team.
The second factor is the scheduling of IHSA officials. Baseball, soccer and softball
games cannot be held without an official present to supervise the game. There are
more complications in scheduling officials than there are finding open dates.
Some events need to have event personnel. This is a long grocery list that
includes dealing with groundskeepers for just about any sport except tennis,
scorekeepers and/or public address announcers, and the plentiful number of
volunteers to assist with track and field meets.
Oh, there are other factors added as well. Pitching rotations for baseball and
softball teams may need to be altered. Plus, for shared facilities, the reschedule
dates have to be okay-ed by the owners of the facility. That's just two of many
different scenarios.
Inclement weather can not only wreak havoc on the agendas of the athletics
directors, coaches and teams, but also the agendas of the fans and parents that
watch the games.
That visit to the grandparents' place may need to be put off. For the extremely
active student, conflicts for activities outside the sports team may need to be
debated. What takes priority over the other, and what does your absence mean to
the thing you're skipping?
Another area that is hit by inclement weather is the media. Sports staffs have to
press for finding out when reschedule dates are. How does that interfere with the
preset coverage agenda, for a staff of only so many people? For some stringers
(writers and photographers paid by the assignment), the usual paycheck may take
a hit because of a canceled date.
The effects trickle down horribly. Like rain.
On the subject of money, among the events that are big money makers for high
school athletic programs are track and field invitationals. Several of them have
been washed away.
Track and field invitationals are just about the only admission-charging events in a
regular season. They are also money makers for organizations that run the
concession stands and apparel shops.
Because track and field invitationals involve plenty of teams, it is even more
difficult to reschedule them for a future date – one that is not a school day. For
those teams that are invitational-heavy on their scheduling, cancellations can
create some sort of rust for future competition.
The weather is hard on so many people, and hopefully we can all realize how
others feel and deal with it.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns
about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat
(at) yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
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