First and foremost, a better venue should be used. Dimond High School’s track and field facilities are less than adequate for hosting anything resembling a championship event. Although their facility does meet minimum requirements for hosting a meet, according to the National Federation of High School Associations rules, it is far from an optimal venue for a high-caliber event.
The crazy thing is, Anchorage has one of the best track and field facilities on the West Coast! However, the ASD administrators in charge choose to allow “turf protection” to dictate how a bid is submitted. In other words, Dimond is the only Anchorage school allowed to submit a bid to host the state championships. Their bid is submitted to Alaska School Activities Association, or ASAA, which makes a selection among the school districts that submit. By choosing an austere site like Dimond High School’s current three-year bid (2020-2022), ASAA is robbing athletes, coaches, officials, parents, fans, the media and sponsors of the opportunity to experience an excellent championship.
Take basketball, for example. Using a “minimum” requirement approach, such as is being done in track and field, ASAA could justify hosting the state basketball tournament in any high school gym in the state. However, we all know that is not how it’s typically done — with the exception of this year’s tourney, due to COVID-19. Typically, the tournament is held in a major stadium venue, like the Sullivan Arena or the Alaska Airlines Center.
Second, the state track and field championships should be the only ASAA championship event scheduled on a given date. ASAA should not be sanctioning two championship events, like soccer and track and field, on the same weekend. Allowing two simultaneous events puts the media in a precarious position to make a choice of what they are going to cover, and forces athletes to choose between two sports and diminishes the value of both activities.
Finally, ASAA could be rewarding athletes for qualifying for the state track and field meet in their respective event(s). Every athlete who qualifies for this prestigious meet could be rewarded with two entry tickets to the state meet. The athlete could give these tickets to whomever they wish to be there in support, be they parents, siblings, relatives, classmates or friends. Thus, ASAA could incentivize/motivate athletes while promoting our great venues and this amazing sport.
— Joe Alward
Former Alaska track and field coach, former Alaska state track and field meet director, former Alaska high school track and field athlete
Anchorage
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