Many changes will come with the inaugural year of Washburn Rural North Middle School and Washburn Rural Middle School. One big change will be adding another middle school athletics program to our district. Some of the biggest questions with these changes are whether sixth graders will be able to compete, purchasing new uniforms, and the future of intramural sports.
Regarding to sixth graders competing, Mr. Chesmore, the future athletic director at Washburn Rural North Middle School, said, “KSHSAA only allows sixth graders to participate in non-contact sports, if numbers are needed. As a 6A middle school, the ‘need’ will be minimal and inconsistent, so we will not offer sixth-grade sports. We want our sixth graders to focus on the transition to middle school and building strong academic habits in sixth grade that will help them to be successful student/athletes as seventh and eighth graders.“
One big change to the athletics programs is that intramural sports may no longer be offered. Seventh grader Bryson Philipi said, “There should be intramural sports for kids who don’t make the team so they can get better and try out for the team next year.” However, Mr. Chesmore said why the program will not be an option, “Moving forward, the decision was made not to have intramural sports. Intramurals were an opportunity for athletes who did not make our sports teams to continue to participate. A large benefit of splitting into two middle schools is that we are essentially doubling the number of students participating in our programs that had tryouts/cuts and doubling the number of A team participants. These additional opportunities will cause a shift in our programs. Allowing more students to play at higher-level competition.”
Another area in question is whether or not WRMS will get new uniforms, since Washburn Rural North will have all new uniforms for their sports teams. Eighth grader Beckham Rutherford said, “I think Washburn Rural Middle School should get new gear, because right now it is old and not of good quality.” Many students want new gear and uniforms at Washburn Rural Middle, but unfortunately, they will not get that opportunity. Mr. Dial, the future athletic director for Washburn Rural Middle School, said, “Unfortunately, since we are a current school and don’t have a change in our budget or extra money from a bond issue, we are not able to purchase new gear/uniforms for every sport next year.”
There are lots of questions following the upcoming athletics of the two middle schools that students could see as negative, such as sixth graders not being able to compete, no intramural sports, and WRMS not getting new gear/uniforms, but Mr. Dial encourages students to look at the positives. Dial said, ”As far as it comes to athletics, splitting into two middle schools will allow more kids to participate and be an integral part of the athletic program. More athletes will have to step up in those programs, even the non-cut sports, to be “A” team players. However, no matter what level, students will get exposed to more opportunities and receive more coaching. The total number of players will be smaller, so that will allow coaches to get through more repetitions in practice and should help build their skills throughout the year.”
