New York State Sportswriters Association   
    
Search
 
→ Rankings
NYSSWA rankings are updated weekly.
See the latest plus the earlier weeks'
updates on our rankings page.

 
 
→ User tools

 

Friday, Dec. 21, 2012: Sec. 1 to start football season a week earlier

   Leading off today: OK, so this whole Mayan calendar thing turned out to be a bust -- if you can characterize our continued existence, as opposed to the world ending courtesy of a volley of meteors and fireballs, as a bust.

   Next up on the calendar watch: Thanks to how key holidays fall, Section 1 will sync up its schedule with the eight other sections that participate in the NYSPHSAA playoffs and start its 2013 and 2014 regular seasons a week earlier.

   That should mean the suspension of preposterous three-games-in-11-days stretches for some teams, The Journal News reported Friday. Section 1 Executive Director Jennifer Simmons released a statement saying there was no vote involved in the change, but the upcoming two fall seasons could lead to more permanent measures.

   All sports, including football, will begin their preseason next year on Aug. 19. Labor Day falls on Sept. 2 and Thanksgiving on Nov. 28 next year. That allows teams to scrimmage Aug. 31, open the season on Sept. 6-7 and play state finals at the Carrier Dome Nov. 29-Dec. 1.

   In 2014, Labor Day is Sept. 1 and Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 27, again allowing for a start of the regular season on the first full weekend of September.

   However, the 2015 calendar resumes an unfavorable scheduling stretch. With Labor Day on Sept. 7 and Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, Section 1 will have to decide whether to join the rest of the state by playing Week 1 games Sept. 4-5.

   “Any vote for a change was tabled so that over the next two years, information could be collected to see if a change is warranted,” Simmons said.

   The combination of Hurricane Sandy and a nor'easter storm in a short span caused repeated postponements for downstate sections and New York City schools late this fall, with Section 1 Class A -- saddled with the three-games-in-11-days postseason in order to accommodate an eight-team field -- forcing a nearly unprecedented delay in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association football tournament.

   Section 1 and 9 reps each lost games in the state tournament after having had to play games five days apart due to the late Section 1 championship game. Had Section 1 been on the same schedule as the rest of the sections, the football final would have been completed before the hurricane.

   Speaking of hot-button issues: If wrestling fans aren't the most passionate supporters of a high school sport, they're at least in the conversation. That's why it's no surprise that an online petition started this month by Tim Herman of Rochester is nearly halfway to the goal of 2,500 signatures already.

   Herman and other wrestling supporters want the NYSPHSAA to restore sectional singlets to the state wrestling tournament in Albany rather than have athletes compete in their school-issued colors. The section-issued singlets -- Section 5 wrestlers, for instance, wore purple -- were a longtime tradition, but budget issues caused the NYSPHSAA executive committee to do away with state-issued tournament clothing in several sports.

   "Earning a state championship singlet is not only the goal of nearly every wrestler in NYS, it's something the spectators look forward to," Herman wrote in his petition. "Fans dress in their section colors, families have custom colored t-shirts made, and some athletes even dye their hair to match! Not to mention, in a sea of matches, it's nearly impossible to closely follow the action as a spectator without the visual cue."

   Shortly after the petition went public, New York Wrestling News spoke to Robert Zayas, who became executive director of the NYSPHSAA in September -- after

  
RoadToGlensFalls.com

RoadToTroy.com

the executive committee had made its decision.

   Strictly speaking, the decision is out of Zayas' hands, though the executive director certainly has clout within the organization and is entitled to discuss the avalanche of petition emails when the executive committee reconvenes Jan. 29. "If the sections come together and say that they want this change, it might be possible," he told the wrestling website. "But if it’s only a few Sections, it probably won’t happen."

   There are logical arguments for overturning the decision -- the traditional color scheme is fan-friendly for a meet in which action takes place on multiple mats over two days, plus it's easier for referees to quickly determine if they've accidentally been assigned to a match involving a wrestler from their section -- but dollars and cents will still rule the day until someone comes up with a solution.


Read the tweets
   Many reporters use Twitter to deliver remote updates. We track those tweets from a variety of venues 24/7. Visit the page to see what's going on.
Read the tweets

   "My understanding is that cost was the focus of the decision," Zayas said. "They’ll need reasons to reverse the decision. I don’t mind hearing the passion and perspectives of the member schools and constituents on this issue. But I don’t have the ability to overturn this and neither do a number of others on the petition. The people who want their voices heard should make sure their opinions are heard by the section representatives."

   As someone who covered the Section 5 state qualifier ("Supersectionals") more than a few times back in the day, I can confirm how enormously proud wrestlers were to be awarded their purple singlet after winning the championship match in a packed gym. I'd venture a guess that many athletes valued that article of clothing as much as or more than any trophy or patch they earned in the sport.

   Extra points: Mexico senior diver Nick Rodriguez set a Section 3 record during a dual meet Tuesday vs. Weedsport with a six-dive score of 370.95. The reigning sectional overall champ broke his own pool and school records.


→ Recent blogs and news     NYSSWA RSS feed
  • 7/3/25: Tom Blackford takes Westmoreland hoops job
  • 6/26/25: All-state softball team announced
  • 6/17/25: Albany Academy basketball heads to NEPSAC
  • 6/11/25: L.I. school says mascot change costs $23M
  • 6/4/25: Orchard Park has had a huge spring season
  • 6/1/25: Plainview JFK flag football finally loses game
  • 5/30/25: Miller Place star extends state discus mark

  • 5/29/25: Supporters rally behind Sec. 9 softball coach
  • 5/25/25: Williamsville East moves on without coach
  • 5/23/25: Sec. 6 baseball team accused of tanking game
  • 5/23/25: NYSPHSAA, PSAL, CHSAA flag football update
  • 5/17/25: Wayne's Blankenberg opts for prep school
  • 5/16/25: Section 2 hits La Salle with playoff ban
  • 5/9/25: Three-Region Concept hits a speed bump
  • 5/8/25: Girls basketball all-state team (AAA, AA, and A)
  • 5/5/25: Previewing the quarterly NYSPHSAA meeting
  • 5/5/25: Girls basketball all-state team (B, C, and D)

  • 5/2/25: Ad hoc committee to pitch public vs. private plan
  • 4/30/25: DA: Charges pending against Westhill athletes
  • 4/27/25: Boys basketball all-state team (AAA, AA, and A)
  • 4/26/25: Title-winning SWR coach Adrian Gilmore dies
  • 4/25/25: Sports and politicians: Not a good mix
  • 4/21/25: Boys basketball all-state team (B, C, and D)
  • 4/16/25: Art and Linda Kranick resign at Saratoga
  • 4/14/25: Sec. 5 coach may have set 2 marks with 1 win
  • 4/12/25: Miles ties NYSPHSAA mark for baseball wins
  • 4/5/25: Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton picks Irion

  • 4/4/25: NY's eight-man football surge is subsiding
  • 3/29/25: Sec. 1 football schedule has coaches uneasy
  • 3/28/25: Did a book cost longtime Sec. 3 coach his job?
  • 3/26/25: Does flag football hurt other spring sports?
  • 3/24/25: Fired Northville coach charged with harassment
  • 3/22/25: Northville fires coach over post-game incident
  • 3/19/25: L.I. parents bring racism concerns to board
  • 3/14/25: NFHS Hall of Fame inducting St. Johnsville star
  • 3/7/25: Battaglia set for 3rd tour of duty at Aquinas
  • 3/7/25: Schedule of N.Y. boys basketball title games

  • 3/6/25: Court OK's Zariel Macchia to run Saturday
  • 3/5/25: Aquinas fires football coach after semifinal run
  • 3/1/25: Newburgh dismisses Bianco as football coach
  • 2/27/25: Court reinstates L.I. hoops star for sectionals
  • 2/22/25: Distance star Macchia out of state meet
  • 2/14/25: Remarkable efforts in WNY girls basketball
  • 2/8/25: NYSPHSAA working way through 2 big topics
  • 2/6/25: Three-Region Concept is on the fast track
  • 2/1/25: Minisink Valley, John Glenn wrestlers prevail
  • 1/31/25: 2024 girls basketball all-state team named

  • 1/25/25: NYC, L.I. restore football all-star game
  • 1/18/25: Colonie bowler's 890 series sets U.S. mark
  • 1/16/25: Somers football likely to remain in Class A
  • 1/15/25: All-state football: Classes AA and A
  • 1/14/25: Harper steps down at Clymer/Sherman/Panama
  • 1/10/25: Four L.I. districts still battling mascot rule
  • 1/8/25: All-state football: Classes B, C, D and 8-man
  • 12/20/24: Canastota's Laidlaw chalks up 900th win
  • 12/17/24: William Floyd assistant dies in car crash
  • 12/11/24: AD at Sec. 2 powerhouse will step down

  • 12/9/24: Girls soccer all-state selections announced
  • 12/8/24: Recapping the weekend NYSPHSAA football finals
  • 12/7/24: Which mascots replaced Indians, Warriors?
  • 12/6/24: Publics vs. privates issue resurfaces
  • 12/5/24: NYSPHSAA makes rare mid-year class change
  • 12/2/24: Short-handed Conn. team forfeits playoff game
  • 12/1/24: Massapequa hockey player dies during game
  • 11/27/24: Column: Crisis in Sec. 5 small-school football
  • 11/24/24: PSAL cracks down, imposes hoops forfeits
  • 11/22/24: Bayport-Blue Point football extends streaks

  • 11/19/24: Some thoughts following the playoffs weekend
  • 11/15/24: Plainedge football pulls off last-play win
  • 11/8/24: Court restores Syracuse ITC to grid playoffs
  • 11/6/24: West Islip girls soccer advances on PKs
  • 11/5/24: Newburgh forfeits sectional football opener
  • 11/2/24: Top-ranked 'D' football team's season over
  • 10/31/24: Herricks' Walia wins state tennis singles title
  • 10/28/24: S-WR senior making the grade in 2 sports
  • 10/27/24: Copiague football ends its record losing streak
  • 10/26/24: Herkimer gridders claw way back to .500

  • 10/25/24: Girls lacrosse schedule proposal nixed
  • 10/22/24: NYSPHSAA Exec Committee meeting preview
  • 10/19/24: Albany CBA wins Sec. 2 football showdown
  • 10/18/24: Baldwinsville cracks 'USAT' eSports rankings
  • 10/16/24: Wisc. hits schools hard for paperwork glitch
  • 10/14/24: Bethlehem girls, Macchia win Eastern States
  • 10/13/24: Iona Prep slips past Hayes in 'AA" showdown
  • 10/11/24: La. QB throws for 817 yards in overtime loss
  • 10/10/24: Report: N.Y. girls to join transgender protest
  • 10/7/24: More eight-man teams left stranded in Week 5

  • 10/5/24: 18 ranked N.Y. football teams fall in Friday action
  • 10/4/24: Longest U.S. football futility streak continues
  • 10/3/24: Syracuse.com's twist on fantasy football
  • 9/30/24: M-E edges Waverly in battle of No. 1 teams
  • 9/27/24: Report: Sec. 3 athletes flock to NIL Club
  • 9/25/24: Ex-Kellenberg QB sets off an NIL drama
  • 9/23/24: NYSPHSAA warns about potential NIL isssue
  • 9/21/24: South Park's Nunes shatters N.Y. rushing record
  • 9/20/24: Storytelling in H.S. sports is alive and well
  • 9/19/24: Longtime SWR coach Paul Koretzki, 84, dies

  • 9/17/24: Western N.Y. teams embracing Guardian Caps
  • 9/15/24: N.J. shows us N.Y. football has a ways to go
  • 9/14/24: Another UPrep game, another fan incident
  • 9/13/24: Ohio wrestles with aftermath of shootings
  • 9/11/24: Mass. school forfeits over male opponent
  • 9/10/24: Regents table vote on expanding mixed competition
  • 9/9/24: Shot clock experiment will change lacrosse
  • 9/7/24: Garden City sets L.I. football record
  • 9/6/24: Lawsuit takes aim at N.C.'s NIL ban
  • 9/5/24: New York's Week 0 football intrigue

  •   
    This Site
    HOME
    BLOG
    RANKINGS
    BRACKETS
    REFERENCE
    KERR CUP
    ABOUT US

    ©2024 Abbott Trento Online Media.
    All rights reserved.
    Contact us via e-mail.

       NYSSWA football site