For the second year in a row, it’s obvious that Father Winter is not a sports fan. Starting on Nov. 28, his foul temperament has been wreaking havoc on sporting events throughout North Kitsap. From canceling practices to postponing full-scale events, the effects of the first blast of winter will be felt throughout the season.
“It’s deja vu all over again,” said Trish Olson, athletic director for North Kitsap School District, as she anticipated losing power in her office Monday morning from the flooding. She was referring to last year’s sports season which began just as badly as this one has.
The mess began when the NKSD cancelled all after-school activities on Nov. 28. The cancelled practices created ineligibility issues for about half the North Kitsap and Kingston high school swim team for their first meet Friday.
No sport has remained untouched from the winter fallout.
The Viking Challenge, a wrestling tournament hosted by North Kitsap, began as the first snowflakes were falling on Kitsap. About mid-way through, coaches decided it was better to be safe than stranded on the side of the road, and cancelled the rest of the meet.
Basketball is suffering far worse than the other sports. Kingston’s varsity girls were supposed to host Garfield High School from Seattle in Kingston’s first-ever home game on Nov. 28. But alas, it was not to be. And the cancellation was expensive, too.
“Garfield was out $600, because their kids were already on the bus,” said Dan Novick, athletic director for Kingston. “It was supposed to be the first basketball game in the history of the high school. It was a real bummer.”
A makeup date for this game has not been set. Because Garfield made the first attempt and lost money in the process, discussions are in the works for Kingston to travel to Garfield for the makeup game.
Kingston’s games against Fife (Tacoma) were cancelled, even as the Kingston Booster Club was setting up concessions.
“The Fife athletic director and director of transportation thought they could make it out because it wasn’t snowing in Tacoma. We didn’t know if, once we got them here, if we could get them out,” Novick said.
His main concern is that while Kingston has been postponing games left and right, its opponents are gaining the competitive edge.
“It’s tough, but it’s not going to last forever and I’m about ready to build myself an ark here,” he said. “Our coaches have been really good about it. Our coaches want to play the game, but to their credit we haven’t had a single one complain. But the kids are bummed.”
North Kitsap, too, has had its share of basketball cancellations. Matches against Klahowya were cancelled on Dec. 1 and last week’s girls basketball against Bainbridge was rescheduled for Monday before all after school activities were cancelled.
