PORT TOWNSEND — Blue Heron Middle School students have submitted a petition to the school’s principal requesting that competitive team sports be reinstated.
“The kids at Blue Heron need to have sports because they need to prepare for high school,” said Amelia Grant, who with her classmate Maryn Moegling circulated the petition that includes 109 signatures from students and parents.
Sports were discontinued in June at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, ending some 15 years of sports at the school, as a cost-saving measure.
The cost of the program ranged from $60,000 to $80,000 a year “depending on how it is calculated,” said interim Principal Tom Kent, who was the school’s athletic director when the cuts were made.
While he supports the students’ initiative in seeking signatures for a petition, Kent doesn’t have a lot of optimism.
“This decision is bigger than me and the 110 students who signed the petition,” said Kent.
“Blue Heron is not an anomaly,” he added.
“This year, there are 300 fewer teams statewide than the year before.”
Port Townsend School administrative personnel were not available for comment Thursday morning.
The girls who spearheaded the petition, both 12-year-old seventh-graders, are in a “doughnut hole” when it comes to sports programs.
When the program existed, they were in sixth grade and could not participate.
Now, they will need to wait until ninth grade to play team sports.
“Sports gives us something to do instead of going off and getting into drugs and stuff,” Moegling said.
“It’s a way to keep us occupied, instead of having too much time to do just whatever we want.”
Moegling doesn’t like spending time on the Internet.
“It’s not a good thing to be on Facebook all the time,” she said.
“You don’t get any exercise or education from it.”
In partnership with the school, the YMCA has established an intramural after-school sports program that differs from the petition request, as it is currently a coed skill-building program.
This will be expanded in January, according to YMCA strategic development director Erica Delma
While competitive sports teams may not emerge anytime soon, the YMCA is working to coordinate available options in order to meet students’ recreational needs.
Delma said she hopes to assemble a list of programs and clubs by Jan. 1, so kids can be matched to specific activities.
Basketball and volleyball are among those that will be included, Delma said.
“The entire community is stepping up to make this happen,” she said.
“By the beginning of the year, I hope we can centralize all the programs and contact information.”
Students had different reasons for favoring the petition.
“If we have sports, we can get out of school earlier,” said seventh-grader Gerry Coker.
“Teachers won’t give us as much homework if they know we have other things to do,” he added.
“It’s also a good way to travel. We get to see Sequim and Port Angeles and maybe even Forks and other far-away places.”
The kids don’t want to become jocks, only to let off some steam.
Said Luke Anderson, a seventh-grader: “I don’t think any of us will be professional athletes.
“We just want to play sports and have fun.”
Anderson said gym class isn’t enough.
“We are only there for 45 minutes and don’t really do anything.”
The discontinued sports included volleyball, track, basketball, volleyball and cross-country.
For information about YMCA plans, phone 360-385-5811.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.