Between Friday and Monday, 31 sporting events involving area high schools were scheduled to be played.
Only one of those 31 events went off as scheduled because of weather-related issues. The Columbus North girls basketball team beat Bloomington South on Saturday afternoon to clinch at least a share of the Conference Indiana title.
Most of the other 30 were rescheduled. That means hours upon hours on the phone for local athletics directors.
The first thing ADs have to do is let everyone involved know that a game has been canceled or postponed. That includes coaches, game officials, ticket takers, concession workers, custodians, announcers, official scorers, cheer coaches and the media. North AD Jeff Hester usually does that by text message.
The next order of business is to come up with a reschedule date.
“That’s where it gets challenging because it depends on the school you’re working with,” Hester said. “You have to look through everyone’s schedule to see what night it would fit. Sometimes that can be done relatively quickly, and sometimes, it can take a day or two to figure out what works.”
Finding officials also can be a challenge, especially since other schools who have postponed games are trying to reschedule games and looking for officials, as well. North had to move Friday’s home basketball game with Mooresville to Monday, then move it again when more snow hit Monday.
Last weekend was going to be a busy one at Columbus East, with home boys basketball games Friday and Saturday and a home girls basketball game and the Hoosier Hills Conference girls swim meet Saturday afternoon.
“When all of that got canceled, it’s like I was just as busy trying to cancel it, find time to reschedule and start looking for officials,” East AD Pete Huse said.
Olympians assistant AD Tyler Davis was right there with him since he hires the officials and gets the scorer, timer, ticket takers, concession workers and other workers for East events.
But a week like the past one comes only once every few winters. A couple days of heavy rain in the spring can leave baseball and softball fields and golf courses unplayable.
“The worst time is in the spring when it rains,” Hester said. “The spring has its own challenge because of the field conditions. In the winter, it’s just whether they can make it or not.”
Conference meets set
The HHC wrestling tournament, which originally was scheduled for last weekend, will be at 6 p.m. Friday at Jeffersonville. Eighth-ranked Columbus East is the heavy favorite.
Columbus North will compete in the Conference Indiana boys and girls swim meet Saturday at IUPUI’s Indiana University Natatorium. Diving begins at 8 a.m., and swimming starts at noon.
East sets golf callout
Columbus East will have a boys golf callout meeting at 5:30 p.m. today at Otter Creek Golf Course.
The meeting is for all boys interested in playing golf for the Olympians this spring. For more information, call coach Tom LaBarbera at 812-378-0836.
North volleyball to meet
The Columbus North volleyball parent/player meeting that was postponed earlier this week has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday in the school’s LGI room.
The meeting is for anyone interested in trying out for the Bull Dogs volleyball team in the fall. Players and parents should enter through the cafeteria entrance and be directed to the room.
Players will meet the coaching staff, go over schedules for workouts and open gyms and learn what to expect heading into the summer. Incoming freshman also can meet the returners and ask any questions they might have about the team’s expectations.
