Dayton-Waitburg Combine meeting tackles mascots and athletic codes

DAYTON—The Dayton-Waitsburg Combine Committee met Jan. 27 to discuss mascots and athletic codes as well as go over the new league alignments.

Four mascot names have been chosen by the Associated Student Body (ASB) leaders to be considered for adoption: Valley Vikings, Valley Wolfpack, Birddogs, and the Giants. Students and the members of the community have an opportunity to weigh in on the names and even suggest other name possibilities to the two school’s ASBs for their approval. Input for names will be accepted through Feb. 12 so that students in grades 6 to 12 at Dayton and Waitsburg can vote on Friday Feb. 14 for the new mascot name to be associated with the athletic teams.

Action on the official adoption of a mascot name selection could be taken as soon as the respective school board meetings on the 19th and 20th. The intent is to make a selection soon in order to procure the new uniforms for the upcoming sports seasons. One concern put forth regarding this process would be the costs associated with rebranding both schools, adding or removing current Cardinals and Bulldog décor.

Athletic Director Nicki Luper announced an update on the new Eastern Washington Athletic Conference realignment handed down by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) to start in the fall. The league will be divided into East and West divisions. D-W Football will face Mabton, Tri-Cities Prep, Burbank, River View, and Warden in the East division. The West will have Kittitas/Thorp, White Swan, Highland, Granger, Cle Elum and Goldendale. For baseball, softball, volleyball and basketball the alignment will see Mabton added to the West, and Walla Walla Valley Academy added to the East.

The committee discussed issues regarding finding games for middle school athletic teams. Luper said the two biggest issues she faces is travel and finding other middle schools in the area with teams. A consensus suggested Luper investigate the possibility of the middle schools joining a Tri-City league to get more competition as middle schools are not strictly regulated by the WIAA.

Another issue discussed was the bussing of students to practice. It was pointed out that students were purposely or accidently missing the bus and then driving themselves or catching rides to practice. While a decision was not voted upon, it was agreed that a policy needs to be established.

Finally, the committee divided up into small groups and looked over eight other athletic codes with purpose of establishing a new D-W athletic code. It was decided the Dayton and the Waitsburg codes should be combined into one athletic code for the combine. It was proposed that a tentative new draft be prepared for the next meeting.

The next meeting of the athletic combine is scheduled for Feb. 24 at the Waitsburg elementary school library.