By Dana Hess

For the S.D. NewsMedia Association

PIERRE — Scheduling difficulties, as well as other factors, may lead to the demise of the state wrestling dual tournament. At its meeting on Wednesday, March 4, members of the South Dakota High School Activities Association board of directors learned about the possibility of discontinuing the tournament.

SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director Randy Soma told the board that the wrestling advisory panel voted 6-0 in favor of discontinuing the tournament. The advisory panel is made up of coaches, administrators and an official. The advisory panel’s decision will now be considered at the annual meeting of athletic directors. Decisions made at the athletic directors’ meeting must be finalized by the SDHSAA board of directors.

Reasons offered for discontinuing the tournament included the difficulty in tracking out-of-state records, financial concerns and scheduling challenges. A dual consists of two wrestling squads competing against each other as opposed to a tournament format with multiple teams. 

SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos said it can be difficult to match teams in the tournament as some schools may wrestle 30 duals while other schools may wrestle only 10 duals. 

Prior to the dual tournament, Swartos said he had one wrestling coach tell him, “I hope I’m not in it. I want my kids to have that weekend off.”

The Wrestling Coaches Association may be interested in offering a duals tournament, according to Swartos. That event would be similar to a basketball classic. 

Unsportsmanlike conduct noted at state wrestling tournament

PIERRE — While no one has tracked whether it was worse than last year, officials of the South Dakota High School Activities Association noted that there seemed to be a rise in unsportsmanlike activity at this year’s state wrestling tournament.

“I felt like it was more,” SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director Randy Soma told the association’s board of directors at their meeting on Wednesday, March 4. “It stood out.”

In wrestling, athletes can get point deductions for taunting, swearing, refusing to shake hands after a match or throwing headgear. If a wrestler is called twice for unsportsmanlike conduct he can be ejected.

Soma said he hasn’t tracked whether this year’s point deductions for unsportsmanlike conduct were similar to previous tournaments. 

SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos said one coach was cited for unsportsmanlike conduct. The rest of the citations were for wrestlers. In one of the more serious cases, a wrestler was bitten.

Sportsmanship in wrestling will be a “point of emphasis” prior to the start of next year’s season, Soma said.

SDHSAA board warned about legislative interference in other states

PIERRE — A report on this year’s legislative bills that may have affected the South Dakota High School Activities Association led to a warning about state associations that are suffering from legislative interference. The SDHSAA board of directors got the report at their meeting on Wednesday, March 4.

SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos told the board that legislative interference with activities associations is occurring across the country. He said it has started in the southeast and is working its way across the nation.

According to Swartos, activities association boards are under the threat of being disbanded by legislative action in Missouri and Oklahoma. Other associations are facing legislative threats in Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida.

The South Dakota association is fortunate, Swartos said, because “we have a pretty good relationship with our Legislature.” Swartos added that he tries to be responsive to the needs of the Legislature, the governor’s office and the state Department of Education.

The bills being tracked by SDHSAA included House Bill 1039, calling for cardiac evaluations of students. That bill was withdrawn by the sponsor, Swartos said.

HB 1073 called on schools to create cardiac emergency plans. That bill was endorsed by the House Education Committee on a 12-0 vote. Because of a $150,000 appropriation for the purchase of automated external defibrillators or AEDs, it next went to the Joint Appropriations Committee where a do pass motion failed on a 6-10 vote. A 10-6 vote sent the bill to the 41st day, a method used for disposing of legislation.

Swartos said the cardiac emergency plan outlined in HB 1073 is similar to something that SDHSAA already requires of member schools. Most schools already have AEDs in their gyms. Swartos said the $150,000 appropriation could have been used by schools that need AEDs away from school grounds, like practice facilities for tennis, soccer and cross-country.

HB 1187 calls for coaches to become mandatory reporters when they see students that are abused or neglected. The original bill gave that distinction to coaches in SDHSAA-sanctioned sports. It was amended, Swartos explained, to include all coaches. That means it would also apply to coaches in non-sanctioned sports like weight-lifting, hockey and baseball.

The bill was endorsed unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee 11-0 and the full House 66-0. It will next be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 5.