The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1940-10-03

sport =
| WagS- &
BY Chuck Rattle
Propose Split Program
For Basketball Setup-
Conference Grouping
Is Step in Trend
Tennis Picture
Brightens For Spring
Kitzie Gets Bass
It grows increasingly more evil
dent that what the Minnesota State
High School League needs to clar'
ify its basketball setup is some sor'
of division along A and B lines
I'm thinking mostly from the
spectators viewpoint. Each year
he must ramble through maze
of drawings, pairings, seedlings, OF
not seedlings, in sub-district, dis
trict ball until he must veritably
be a statistician to make out the
procedure. Few districts have
been able to set up a program that
would hang for several years. It's
been one of appeasement for either
the large or the smaller schools
of the district in each case. :.
The problem arises out OF the
fact there are two schools OF
thought. One to take their
chances in open competition In
the hope that the best teams
will win and reach the district.
The other wishes to insure
that certain teams will get into
the district. Each fall there's
Munich; and the voice of the
smaller schools, now more unit
ed than ever, has been strong
enough to hold sway in the sub
districts. For clarity there
ought to be some statewide set
ND that is uniform. It'll take
time; plenty Of argument.
There are several ways to div
ide. Either along population
lines of the towns themselves,
or along the lines of student
enrolment. :.
Student enrolment, it has been
advanced, is the much more fail
way. It could allow a school to
shift in and out of one bracket
to the other in the advent of rises
or falls in the school populace.
Opponents of such setups state the
case of the borderline schools. The
schools who might fall just in oil
out of the senior classification
They eternally become, as the CASE
may be, the largest or the small
est school in the program. II
can change the entire status of 6
school who now may enjoy the
position Of large school in 1t:
district and make it a small schoo
in the new setup. -.
But no matter, the status once
the program was setup proper
", fandOm would know just
where It stood. There Is
another argument against. 1t
would necessitate reforming
districts, and districts would
lie in much larger territories
with their attending longer
trips and rescheduling of OPP
pOnents. Geographically pres
ent districts are ideal. They
have been worked out to con-
form to easy travelling ar
rangements for all clubs-that
was highly necessary ten years
ago.
Today it doesn't loom quite SO
important. Let me point to a rec
ent trend in season scheduling that
is moving to group schools accord
ing to size and according to COM
parative competition. Games
are taking Sank Centre this year as
far as 60 miles. The trend I
refer to Is the growth Of confer
ence systems in which schools of
relative size band together for
the Intensified interest to be gain
ed from a competitive program
throughout the year and the inter-
STRENGTHENING quality Of playing
a team that at any time can beat
you. This trend toward con-
ference grouping of schools of a
size, and the almost complete elm
ination of smaller schools in any
given district from the season
schedules of the larger boys, Is
schools admission, we believe, that
the setup proposed to set aside
schools in two brackets for the bas-
ketball tournaments has merit. .
It looks to me like conference play
is a step, consciously or not, tow
ard the split program. ;.
Tennis grabbed new lease
on life in the closing moments
Of the summer season, grabbed