Many coaches, competitors, family members and friends spent the bulk of their Monday holiday working.
The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A and B Track and Field Championships were held in Bath. The Maine Principal’s Association scheduled state tennis playoffs for Memorial Day, starting at 9 a.m.
Medomak and Lincoln baseball and softball games were originally rescheduled for Memorial Day, but were changed to May 29 due to complaints about playing on the holiday.
What is unusual is the competitions were held on a Monday, Memorial Day: a national holiday. We daresay, given its significance, we could make the case that it is the national holiday.
Without the brave men and women of our armed forces, our precious rights would have been lost or stolen long ago.
We understand KVAC officials were between a rock and hard place with the scheduling. The consistent rain and drizzle leading up to Monday generally made a mess of the outdoor athletic schedule. The baseball season ends May 29. Last week some teams were faced with the prospect of squeezing in four games in six days.
By the bye, for players and coaches, school years start to end next week. Medomak Valley graduates June 5. Lincoln and Wiscasset both graduate June 6; Boothbay, June 7. Many of the seniors on the field Monday, no doubt, are already looking ahead to graduation, and rightly so.
We know at least one track athlete who also plays in the Lincoln Academy marching band, had to do double duty. She marched in the Twin Villages Memorial Day Parade, (it is a requirement) and then beat feet to Bath for the KVAC competition in order to honor her obligation to their team and her school. We wouldn’t be surprised if there were others.
Maybe it’s just us, but we feel a national holiday is the wrong time for these competitions. Maybe it is just the way we are looking at it. We have no issue with a casual baseball/softball/Frisbee/horseshoes what-have-you game played around Memorial Day festivities, but those are voluntary activities, typically involving friends and family.
There is so much in the world that pulls people apart; one of the high functions of holidays is they pull people together.
We get it: a week of rain raised havoc with the schedule this year and the first, easiest thing to do is get angry with the schedule-makers. We don’t know what we would have done in their shoes. Still, it feels there could have been better decisions made.
What good is a holiday set aside to remember, if you are so busy working or competing, you just forget?
