District Sites
- Thread starter se xc1
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Are 1A schools not wanting to host anymore? It looks like it's mostly the 4A schools that get to host a 1A district.
Yeah..... there is going to be some driving in 2A... With Shenandoah and Unity as sites, you have to go all the way over to schools like PCM, clarion goldfield, garner, roland story, north polk, etc. to even be able to pull 13-14 teams into those two districts and make an equitable number of teams in each. Meanwhile, there are 25+ schools within reasonable distance of going to Dike. I would say about half the teams up and down I-35 have to go all the way west to get the same number of teams in those western districts.
But, that is the way it shakes out (as I assume) there just were not any other sites that said they would host.
But, that is the way it shakes out (as I assume) there just were not any other sites that said they would host.
downside (from my perspective) is that hosting a meet is a giant PITA, and as a coach, I want to be able to be with my team and coach at a meet like this. I don't want to be running a meet.
If a school has several competent people who can run a CC meet, and are not the CC coaches..... that is great. However, often, the CC coach is the one who has to run the meet when hosting. I think most people simply do not want the responsibility, extra work and distraction of trying to host a meet like this. Also, you need a decent facility and it is hard to get golf courses to give up multiple days per fall for CC. Hard enough getting them to let you on a course once for a home meet, much less multiple times for conference and district type events.
Upside - no travel, concession money for booster club, maybe some money for admission or parking perhaps, home course advantage.
If a school has several competent people who can run a CC meet, and are not the CC coaches..... that is great. However, often, the CC coach is the one who has to run the meet when hosting. I think most people simply do not want the responsibility, extra work and distraction of trying to host a meet like this. Also, you need a decent facility and it is hard to get golf courses to give up multiple days per fall for CC. Hard enough getting them to let you on a course once for a home meet, much less multiple times for conference and district type events.
Upside - no travel, concession money for booster club, maybe some money for admission or parking perhaps, home course advantage.
I agree with cc coach on the downsides, and some years I believe the home course isn't necessarily an advantage (for various reasons)
Having people who can run an efficient meet that are NOT the coaches is a huge factor - and the smaller the school, the harder these people are to find. This is then when cost becomes a factor when hiring an outside entity to run/score the meet - as well as when these outside sources are available. We hire Hilltopper racing to do our 28-30 team invite and are able to pay for it out of our entry fees (He typically runs the CF SQM, so is booked then). There are not entry fees for the SQM, and I can't say for certainty if/what the host schools are reimbursed.
Host schools typically aren't making much money from concessions due to only 2 races.
Upside... no travel, much better fan support due to early start time... tough for parents of your non-runners, and other students to get to a meet 1-2 hours away that starts at 3:00 or 4:00. They would be there for a home event.
Having people who can run an efficient meet that are NOT the coaches is a huge factor - and the smaller the school, the harder these people are to find. This is then when cost becomes a factor when hiring an outside entity to run/score the meet - as well as when these outside sources are available. We hire Hilltopper racing to do our 28-30 team invite and are able to pay for it out of our entry fees (He typically runs the CF SQM, so is booked then). There are not entry fees for the SQM, and I can't say for certainty if/what the host schools are reimbursed.
Host schools typically aren't making much money from concessions due to only 2 races.
Upside... no travel, much better fan support due to early start time... tough for parents of your non-runners, and other students to get to a meet 1-2 hours away that starts at 3:00 or 4:00. They would be there for a home event.
Trust me, I'm not complaining, just asking a question. One thing I found odd when my oldest son started running XC was that we rarely had to pay to get into meets. I think the only one we participate in (though we aren't this year) that does was the Ballard meet, and I was told that was to cover the cost of transportation from the school to the country club, which made sense. Why isn't there an entry fee to more events? Could they charge something like $3-5 per car at the parking area entrance?
I've often wondered how the teams that host make money. Quite a few we've been to don't have any concessions, and with no entry or parking fee, what is the benefit of hosting? And that applies to regular season, not just districts.
Yeah - I really don't see the home course as much of an advantage at all..... and more often a disadvantage, simply because there are so many more distractions. CC isn't like other sports where the kids are on the field/court and the fans are in the stands. The fans are right in camp, talking, potentially distracting the kids as they are trying to warm up,etc.
I like the satisfaction of having things go well at our meet after it is over..... but the day of our home meet and right during our meet is one of my least favorite times of the year. It has gotten better as we now have a couple teachers on staff that have started doing the timing/scoring for us with an automated system.
Host schools receive a hosting fee and the starter is hired by the state. The expenses are painting the lines and hiring the timing company. If they want fast, accurate results they get someone. If they want a mess and time consuming popsickle stick method, that is their choice. Host school benefits from not paying for busing.
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