A Hot Topic
July 10, 2012
It is a terrible irony that Georgia saw two of its high school football players die late last summer when it’s the Georgia High School Association that was providing us with the best information we’ve ever had about the risks of heat illness and death.
The deaths occurred in the third year of a thorough three-year study in Georgia that is reinforcing common sense. The study is confirming who is most at risk and when they’re most at risk.
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Who is most at risk? Linemen more than other players; underclassmen more than older players; those who have had the flu or similar sickness more than others.
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When are they most at risk? During the season’s first week more than the second. During the second practice of a double session day more than the first. During the second half of the second practice more than the first half, and, early in the morning when humidity is often highest.
It all makes perfect sense: the chubby 9th or 10th grader during the second half of the second practice during the first week of the season. And because it’s statistically predictable, heat illness is almost entirely preventable.
There is some danger here in over-generalizing and over-simplifying, but awareness of these tendencies will help coaches to schedule and administrators to legislate around high-risk scenarios. We expect both will be happening in Michigan.
Three New Winter Tournament Venues
February 16, 2018
It is an unusual season when there is one big change for the finals sites of Michigan High School Athletic Association tournaments. This winter there are three really significant changes.
The MHSAA Team Wrestling Tournament begins the first of at least a four-year run on Feb. 23 and 24, 2018, at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo. This event was held at Central Michigan University the past two years.
The following weekend, the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Tournament moves to Ford Field in Detroit, and it has also moved to a condensed schedule – two days, rather than three (March 2 and 3, 2018). This will reduce school and spectator costs. The demise of The Palace of Auburn Hills after the relocation of the Detroit Pistons necessitated the MHSAA’s site change.
The MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament Semifinals and Finals moves to Van Noord Arena on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, March 15-17, 2018. The previous host, Michigan State University’s Breslin Student Events Center, could not commit to the MHSAA’s dates because of schedule conflicts with the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament.
A single venue change is a challenge. Facilitating three major changes over four weeks will make this tournament season especially “interesting.” What is even more interesting is the long-term forecast.
These changes demonstrate how new forces are putting pressure on old relationships. College venues are available on fewer dates and for fewer years; and as they become less available, they also become more costly for high school tournaments. Expenses at commercial arenas are also escalating at more rapid rates than in the past.
Making or maintaining traditions for MHSAA tournaments over future seasons will be a continuing challenge.