by Larry EderDear RBR readers,
Please read the following letter from Coach Dave Frank, from Central Catholic in Portland, friend of the sport, state winning cross country coach, concerned coach. The OSAA is looking into eliminating team qualifying for XC into the state meet. Essentially, they are emasculating the sport of cross country and making it a darn road race. Leave the nihilism for others, cross country has a team tradition that is central to its meaning and life lessons! I urge all of our readers to sign the petition below!
Hello all –
Some of you may have already heard this….
The OSAA (Oregon’s high school sports authority) is looking into eliminating team qualifying for the State Meet. It is likely that there would still be a team champion, but it would be far from the traditional scoring method. [One version I’ve heard is to achieve a total team score – regardless of number of team members – based on places in the race: if there are 100 runners, 1st place scores 100 points, 2nd place scores 99, 3rd = 98, etc… A team could win with two runners or 10 runners.]
Below is a letter that is being distributed amongst interested parties in Oregon; the January 11th meeting has already happened, and discussion will be held at the OSAA offices on Feb 1st for further review.
At the very bottom of this e-mail (below the Greg Letts letter) is a link to an online petition. If you feel strongly about this matter please sign the petition.
Thanks,
Dave Frank
On January 11, the OSAA State Championship Committee is investigating:
Reformatting of Cross Country to eliminate the team qualifying aspect of the event.
A predetermined number of individuals would qualify through a regional or sectional event.
The cross country committee of the OACA (Mike Bauer-Regis, Chris Johnson-Siuslaw, Gerry Tinkle-St. Helens, Tom Rothenberger-Jesuit, Greg Letts-Centennial)
will be speaking at the next public meeting of the State Championship Committee at 9 a.m. on Monday, February 1, at the OSAA office in Wilsonville. The general format for the meeting will be for the Committee to receive public testimony in the morning followed by a closed work session in the afternoon.
Written suggestions and proposals should be mailed or emailed to the OSAA (at bradg@osaa.org) or to the following committee members:
1A/2A/3A Mike Bauer mdb_regis@yahoo.com
4A Chris Johnson cjohnson@lane.k12.or.us
5A Gerry Tinkle Gerryt@sthelens.k12.or.us
6A Tom Rothenberger trothenberger@jesuitportland.org
Cross Country Chair: Greg Letts greg_letts@centennial.k12.or.us
Any communication received by the OSAA will be shared with all committee members for review and discussion.
The cross country committee needs your support to continue the rich tradition of cross-country as a team sport.
Greg Letts
Chairperson—OACA
Cross-Country
http://www.petitiononline.com/OSAAXC10/petition.html
Central Catholic High School
Founded in 1939 “Where intellect and spirit are nurtured in a diverse community.”
