2B or Not 2B? That is the Question

WAITSBURG – The pending dissolution of the Waitsburg-Prescott Sports Combine brings with it a slew of questions to be resolved before the next school year: Which sports will each school offer? Where will practices be held? Who owns the equipment and uniforms? Will the schools combine or co-op for individual sports? These are just a few examples of the issues Waitsburg and Prescott school districts will address over the next few months. But with WIAA fall sports schedules already decided, no issue is more pressing than determining whether the schools will classify themselves as 1B or 2B for the 2015-16 school year. For Waitsburg, the unanimous decision to remain a 2B school for the upcoming year was made at the Feb. 11 school board meeting.

“The same question has been asked in several directions, in several ways, and I keep getting the same answer, but Prescott apparently gets a different answer,” Superintendent Carol Clarke said as she opened the discussion. According to John Miller of the WIAA, whose responsibility is combines and cooperatives, when districts separate and provide their own program, both districts will be classified based on enrollment. Waitsburg and Prescott will be two 1B schools, she said.

Clarke added that in order to play 11 man football, Waitsburg would have to opt up to 2B status. She said current rules and regulations require that if a school opts up in one sport (other than wrestling, cross-country and track & field, which have the option of functioning as cooperatives or combines) they must opt up in all sports. However, in April an amendment will go before the WIAA that would allow a district to opt up in football only, should it pass.

At last month’s WP Athletic Combine Advisory meetings, Prescott said it planned to offer volleyball and soccer only as fall sports, according to Clarke. They also said that they would welcome Waitsburg students to play soccer (since Waitsburg won’t offer it), would enter into a combine agreement for that sport and would not charge Waitsburg to participate. They are hoping Waitsburg would reciprocate, primarily in track & field, said Clarke. If the teams combine, they will be considered 2B for that sport.

Clarke urged the board to decide on whether or not to opt up to 2B status “very quickly” because the 2B football and basketball schedules have already been made. “That’s not to say that we can’t back out of it and ask to be a 1B Independent, but that gives us a little bit of a black eye now that the schedules are prepared,” said Athletic Director Stephanie Wooderchak.

“My take is that we made a commitment as being 2B, that’s a two-year allocation and they’ve made the schedule. Prescott’s opting out. I would like to see us stick with the 2B until they have the new classification year. It’s a respect for the athletic directors, too, for getting scheduling done. I think what Prescott is doing is wrong in what they’re doing to their students and the district. I know it’s going to be hard on our students because they’re not going to be as competitive without being in a combine, but I think we need to stick with that commitment,” said board member Greg Zuger.

The board unanimously echoed Zuger’s sentiment, agreeing that Waitsburg should honor the remainder of the classification period as a 2B school and reconsider with the next classification cycle in the spring of 2016.