Mr. Slippery
Well-known member
I know we're several weeks beyond XC season, but I thought this situation should be mentioned to the wider audience we have on this site:
The principals, ADs, and commissioner of the Inter-Valley Conference (small school league whose geographic center is the Dover-New Philadelphia area) have, for the 3rd time decided, not to act on a proposal to allow junior varsity athletes to compete in intraconference contests. As far as I know, this makes the IVC the only conference in Ohio to not allow any runners beyond the top 7 on a team to compete at the conference XC meet. This may be the only high school conference in the United States to have such a policy. Furthermore, cross country is the only high school sport in the IVC in which JV athletes are disallowed intraconference participation. The IVC has allowed all runners to participate every year until 2022 (except for COVID in 2020), and there were no logistical issues created by the additional athletes, i.e. overcrowding the course or having any stragglers delaying the start of the next race. In every other conference in Ohio (HS and collegiate), runners beyond the top 7 may either compete in the same race as “the top 7” during the championship race, or they compete in a separate JV/Open race that is contested either before or after the varsity race. The IVC does neither.
Ironically, this very same conference allows unlimited entries for the middle school championship, and the middle school championship is held both on the same day and on the same course as the high school varsity race. Again, in every other sport that the IVC offers for intraconference competition, there is either junior varsity competition offered, or it is up to respective schools/coaches to choose to allow junior varsity kids to participate during IVC contests.
After this year’s meet, there was a meeting of coaches during which eleven of the fourteen school coaches voted to allow all IVC cross country athletes to compete. Two of the schools were not represented at the meeting. Despite the overwhelming support to include junior varsity competitors in future conference championship meets, the conference administrators have chosen to ignore the wishes of their coaches and their student-athletes.
Isn’t 1 of the primary purposes of a league to offer intraconference competition for all of its student-athletes? Is “inclusion” and “participation” important to the IVC administrators? If not, why is cross country singled out, or is this only the beginning? Will other conferences follow?
What is gained by the IVC excluding JV athletes from competing at the conference meet?
Any thoughts?
The principals, ADs, and commissioner of the Inter-Valley Conference (small school league whose geographic center is the Dover-New Philadelphia area) have, for the 3rd time decided, not to act on a proposal to allow junior varsity athletes to compete in intraconference contests. As far as I know, this makes the IVC the only conference in Ohio to not allow any runners beyond the top 7 on a team to compete at the conference XC meet. This may be the only high school conference in the United States to have such a policy. Furthermore, cross country is the only high school sport in the IVC in which JV athletes are disallowed intraconference participation. The IVC has allowed all runners to participate every year until 2022 (except for COVID in 2020), and there were no logistical issues created by the additional athletes, i.e. overcrowding the course or having any stragglers delaying the start of the next race. In every other conference in Ohio (HS and collegiate), runners beyond the top 7 may either compete in the same race as “the top 7” during the championship race, or they compete in a separate JV/Open race that is contested either before or after the varsity race. The IVC does neither.
Ironically, this very same conference allows unlimited entries for the middle school championship, and the middle school championship is held both on the same day and on the same course as the high school varsity race. Again, in every other sport that the IVC offers for intraconference competition, there is either junior varsity competition offered, or it is up to respective schools/coaches to choose to allow junior varsity kids to participate during IVC contests.
After this year’s meet, there was a meeting of coaches during which eleven of the fourteen school coaches voted to allow all IVC cross country athletes to compete. Two of the schools were not represented at the meeting. Despite the overwhelming support to include junior varsity competitors in future conference championship meets, the conference administrators have chosen to ignore the wishes of their coaches and their student-athletes.
Isn’t 1 of the primary purposes of a league to offer intraconference competition for all of its student-athletes? Is “inclusion” and “participation” important to the IVC administrators? If not, why is cross country singled out, or is this only the beginning? Will other conferences follow?
What is gained by the IVC excluding JV athletes from competing at the conference meet?
Any thoughts?