The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) announced a date change for the state-wide track and field Divisional State Championships that was approved by numerous principals, athletic directors and coaches despite the fact that it now overlaps with high school graduation.
The schedule change has left senior student-athletes scrambling as they decide between attending their own graduation or competing at the state championships.
According to CBS News, some athletic directors were told by MIAA that “athletes could choose to compete across two days for their school.” However, parents, students and coaches are calling out the logistical impossibilities of allowing graduating seniors to compete early.
“They don't believe it is logistically possible to hold every event on multiple days as some events have preliminaries before finals. Other events, such as a relay, need multiple students there at once,” parents and athletes told WBZ. They went on to say that it could also be a disadvantage to race without the same level of competition in each event.
One impacted athlete, Zakai Lee Perkins, is one of the state’s best track and field athletes and he recently competed at nationals. If he attends his high school graduation, he will miss the 100-meter hurdles event. Perkins was told by MIAA that “only athletes competing in multi-event disciplines like the decathlon will be allowed to compete on the day of their choosing, but that individual events will go on as they are scheduled.” With all of this in mind, Perkins is forgoing graduation and choosing to run instead.
The MIAA said planning an event for 380 schools with no conflicts isn’t possible, but Walpole High School athletic director Ron Dowd believes it can be done. He is creating a proposal “to change the date and to create a unified calendar for all sports seasons that will also avoid athletics on what is typically graduation weekend for many schools in the state.”
Dowd told CBS News, “I think graduation weekend should be a no-go for all sports. Parents have worked hard; students have worked hard. They waited for this day to graduate. Lay the calendar out for the next four, five, eight years with a standard start time and end time. The proposals would be for all three seasons."
