Ending MTB Club Teams in Marin County

[merlinmurph]

Let me see if I've got this right.

ALL club sports were terminated as advised by a third party risk manager.

No school sponsored sports were affected.

Club sports get no financial support from the school (is this right?)



There has got to be more inside info. With all the negative publicity about concussions in sports like football, hockey and lacrosse, the "risk" argument seems pretty weak. Do clubs use any resources at all?

I wish you luck in your battle.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Eli Bingham

There are a couple of major benefits the team gets from the school support (which is not financial in nature).

One is excusing kids for early dismissal on Fridays, so that they can travel to races. This is important for NICA in NorCal, and many other areas, because many races are organized hours away from the schools due to limited venue choices.

Under the ruling, this accommodation would disappear, and any kids who left early for a race would be considered absent without permission (which can lead immediately to a failing class grade).

The other big benefit is the support of the school for team recruiting - setting up on campus, using campus communication channels, etc. This matters a lot. Without it, the sport is marginalized amongst the other choices that parents have for their kids. The “branding” of the school provides a natural introduction to the sport. This would also go away as the ruling means teams could not associate with the school in any way nor do any form of physical recruiting or marketing in partnership with the school.

Thanks for explaining. I don't have any first-hand experience with the high school mountain bike leagues, but they seem like they're great for the kids involved. I hope it's not diminished by this.

[weisan]

Typically, there's a leading "cymbal" that makes the most noise and leading the charge for the change. Identify that cymbal and you would discover the "real" reason behind the termination.

[rwsaunders]

Originally Posted by Eli Bingham

Among other things there are major equity issues here since no school-organized sports were affected, including injury prone sports like football and lacrosse.

Actually, lacrosse isn’t even in the top ten sports injury list unless you want a concussion...football, basketball and wrestling have the highest rate of injury as a percentage of people who participate in HS sports. In terms of total injuries, nobody comes close to basketball and bicycling is in the top five, right after soccer.

https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/d...llege-students

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by weisan

Typically, there's a leading "cymbal" that makes the most noise and leading the charge for the change. Identify that cymbal and you would discover the "real" reason behind the termination.

I prefer cowbell. Hopefully, you signed the petition.

[jpritchet74]

Petition signed. I hope enough support happens to make a change.

[FlashUNC]

Signed. This is dumb even by Marin policy standards.

[54ny77]

signed.

what a dumb decision. probably came from a bunch of pansies who are scared of their own shadow and haven't played a lick of sports in their life.

speaking as one who started a rag tag h.s. mountain bike club back in the stone ages, i can appreciate how much fun and social development it can have on kids. in fact, some of us still stay in touch, and we talk about rides now & then. it's amazing how much faster and better we were with each passing year....

[joosttx]

Thank you for everyone who has signed. Word on the street is the School Board is back tracking a bit from public outrage.

Here is a good summary of the situation.

https://www.savemarinhsmtb.com/?fbcl...nSdmZFAPUcStLU

Please sign the petition if you can. Thank you

[tuxbailey]

Signed. This is ridiculous.

Keep us posted on development if possible?

[gasman]

Signed

Hope it helps

[choke]

“In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards.” - Mark Twain

[Matthew]

Guessing they feel their time is better served by more important things, like renaming schools, figuring out ways to keep kids out of school, and pleasing the teacher's unions. Hopefully they change their minds. Good luck.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Guessing they feel their time is better served by more important things, like renaming schools, figuring out ways to keep kids out of school, and pleasing the teacher's unions. Hopefully they change their minds. Good luck.

You can sign the petition to help.

[Matthew]

I did sign it.