Bowling added to sports slate
Student interest high
By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Members of the Emporia school board on Wednesday voted unanimously to add bowling to the sports available for Emporia High School students. Costs of the new program, with the exception of uniforms, will be borne by Flint Hills Lanes.
The board also set time lines for interviewing and choosing a new member to replace Homer Garza, who resigned earlier.
EHS Principal Scott Sheldon and Athletic Director Britton Hart talked to the board about details of a proposal for varsity and junior varsity bowling teams at the school.
The owners of Flint Hills Lanes had volunteered to sponsor the teams for three years. The sponsorship includes: free lineage for organized practice sessions and team competitions, free use of all rental bowling equipment, coach expenses ($3,960, based annually on a negotiated agreement), and transportation costs of an estimated $1,701, set annually and based on actual cost.
The district would be obliged to provide uniforms, and would retain the right to all coaching and program decisions.
The board asked if there was interest among the students in participating in the sport.
"Yes, we do," Sheldon said. "We do have interest of both boys and girls."
He said that a sign-up sheet to indicate student interest had been posted last school year, and that 88 youngsters had signed up.
Hart said that tryouts for the team would be held about two weeks before Christmas break, with competitions beginning after the first of the year.
Sheldon and Hart told the board that students who often are not involved in athletics become involved with bowling. EHS will be the ninth of 10 Centennial League teams that now participate in bowling as a sports competition.
"I think we're very fortunate to have a local business that's willing to step up and get it started," said board member Mike Crouch.
Board members approved a time line for selecting a new board member, and agreed to run another advertisement to solicit applicants for the position.
President Angie Schreiber and Superintendent John Heim had met on Tuesday to develop a plan to replace Garza.
The proposed schedule called for letters of application to be received at the clerk's office by noon on Sept. 3. Applicants will need to include qualifications to serve on the board, the reasons the applicant wishes to serve, and a brief summary of his or her background.
Those who apply will be mailed a form to complete and return to the clerk's office by noon on Sept. 12.
Under the plan, the board will interview candidates on Sept. 15, then hold a special meeting to take final action on Sept. 17.
"All of the interviews of potential candidates have to be interviewed in open session," Heim said. "... When we interview people for paying jobs, we can do that in closed session."
Board member Mike Helbert said he was concerned about the short time period in which interested district residents would have to applly for the position.
"I don't want to have anybody discouraged," Helbert said.
Heim said that changing the Sept. 3rd date would require republishing the legal notice of the board vacancy.
"This is important enough to try to be as inclusive as we can," Helbert said.
Board members voted to run advertisements in the newspaper and on radio to remind potential candidates of the deadlines and to encourage more applications, without changing the deadline.
The board recognized EHS physical education teacher and coach Randy Wells, who received the High School Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year award during the July meeting of the National Strength and Conditioning Association in Las Vegas. The honor came through a vote of the 35,000 NSCA members. Wells is president of the Kansas chapter of the group.
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Posted by castaway (anonymous) on August 28, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think this would be the only high school sport that is held in a smoking environment. Is that really the environment we want our kids competing in? It would be great if we could get the bowling alley to go NON-smoking. My wife and I would love to bowl there but we hate coming home smelling like an ashtray. And I know we are not the only ones who feel this way.
Posted by hello_neighbor (anonymous) on August 28, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As for the smoking environment...Flint Hills Lanes is actually very conscious about providing a "youth friendly" environment during their Youth League times. There is no smoking allowed by the adults nor, obviously, the children.
I don't see any reason this would be any different for a school athletic event.
As for the ash-tray smell...you are right about this being a smoking environment predominantly which means the overall inside scent will be ingrained w/ the smell of tobacco smoke. Even after the Saturday morning youth league one comes out smelling a bit like stale smoke.
8 of 10 other schools in the Centennial League have bowling as a school sponsored sport...the enviornment can't be all that bad can it?
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