The Interscholastic Management Committee of the Maine Principal’s Association acted on the Ad Hoc recommendations (see The Lincoln County News, Jan. 8 issue, front page story) on athletic policy on Monday.
The MPA rejected the recommendation to reduce the number of games in a season; rejected the proposal to shorten swimming and ice hockey seasons by a week; accepted an amended version of non-countable games to five non-countable (as opposed to the two proposed); accepted limiting post season play to 50 percent of the teams (as opposed to the current two-thirds); accepted the two-year moratorium on official fees and travel; rejected the proposal to withdraw from New England (CNESSPA) competitions; and, approved an amended proposal that all changes approved will be effective with the start of the 2009-10 school year.
When asked if the vote was a good compromise, Medomak Valley Athletic Director Matt Lash said, “Absolutely. There is still work that we need to do as athletic directors to rework the schedules to save more money. Just because we had a victory on Monday, doesn’t mean we’re done working,” Lash added.
Other changes Lash expects to see are more varsity double headers with girls and boys playing the same night; JV teams playing a more local schedule; and golf teams playing the six Midcoast teams instead of traveling long distances.
“That right there saves you a lot of money in travel expenses,” Lash said.
“We’ve been doing the recommendations for a couple of years now. We are trying to be proactive. Obviously, we feel good for the kids right now. Medomak made their first trip to New England cross-country in high school history with the boys in 2007. To eliminated the New Englands would have sent the wrong message to kids.”
On another positive note, Lash said, “It looks like we get to keep the Holiday Classic. And, the alumni games are still potentially in there. We would like to keep that tradition, if possible.”
“We know the work is not done, and the work has just begun with us [as athletic directors],” Lash said.
