WIAA Conducts 11th Sportsmanship Summit

0
374
STEVENS POINT, Wis. – More than 420 students and administrators representing 83 teams from 76 member high schools attended the 2021 WIAA/Rural Mutual Insurance Sportsmanship Summit held Wednesday at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Stevens Point.

Each school was represented by a five-member team or teams consisting of students and school administrators.

Attending from central Wisconsin:

  • Almond-Bancroft
  • Amherst
  • Athens
  • D.C. Everest
  • Marshfield
  • Merrill
  • Mosinee
  • Tri-County
  • Wausau East
  • Wausau West
  • Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln

The mission of the Sportsmanship Summit was to strengthen the principles of sportsmanship by promoting teamwork, sharing resources and providing the impetus to make a difference in member schools. The event is designed to assist schools in addressing citizenship and sportsmanship values with students, student-athletes, adult fans, advisors, parents and booster clubs; developing plans to improve and maintain sportsmanship; and setting sportsmanship expectations.

The Summit began with a welcome from WIAA Executive Director Stephanie Hauser, followed by the morning keynote speaker Craig Hillier, professional speaker and author of Playing Beyond the Scoreboard and How to Step Up and be a Team Leader & Still Keep Your Friends.

Four 40-minute breakout sessions followed with each topic being presented three times: The four topics of the breakout sessions were: “Sportsmanship: The Official’s Perspective” by Thaddeaus Hilliard; “Setting Sportsmanship Guidelines for Parents” by Jenny Bandow, athletic director at Luxemburg-Casco and a member of the WIAA Sportsmanship Committee; “Sportsmanship Student Leadership Discussions” by the Union Grove Student Athlete Leadership Team (S.A.L.T); and “My Coach Plays Favorites” by Mark Horbinski of WON80 and member of the WIAA Sportsmanship Committee.

After lunch, the assembly received a recap of each of the four breakout sessions from the presenters followed by a brief closing by Hauser.

The 76 member schools that attended the Summit are listed below.

Almond-Bancroft
Amherst
Arcadia
Athens
Baraboo
Beaver Dam
Benton
Black River Falls
Brillion
Burlington
Cambridge
Campbellsport
Crivitz
D.C. Everest
Deerfield
Divine Savior Holy Angels
Elcho
Elkhorn
Fall River
Fort Atkinson
Hartford
Hilbert
Hortonville
Hudson
Johnson Creek
Kiel
Kohler
Lake Holcombe
Lake Mills
Lakeland
Little Chute
Luther
Luxemburg-Casco
Madison Country Day
Manawa
Manitowoc Lutheran
Marshfield
Mayville
Medford
Merrill
Mosinee
Mount Horeb
Muskego
New London
Northland Pines
Northwestern
Oakfield
Oconto Falls
Oregon
Pardeeville
Pecatonica
Platteville
Portage
Prescott
Princeton
Racine St. Catherine’s
Reedsville
Sauk Prairie
Sheboygan Christian
Tigerton
Tri-County
Watertown
Waukesha North
Waukesha South
Waukesha West
Wausau East
Wausau West
West Bend East
West Bend West
Westfield
Weyauwega-Fremont
Williams Bay
Winneconne
Winter
Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln
Wittenberg-Birnamwood

The WIAA, as defined by its Constitution, is a voluntary, unincorporated, and nonprofit organization. The membership oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 516 senior high schools and 48 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. For more information, please contact the WIAA office at (715) 344-8580.

************************************************************************

Know some top athletic performances? Seeing some great teams in action?

We can use your help, and it’s simple.  Witness some great performances? Hear about top athletes and top teams in our area?

Nominate an athlete or team: HERE

Pancakes or Waffles!  We feature top area athletes with our world-renowned feature. Send us your nominations for who you’d like us to interview HERE

Baked or Fried! We also feature difference makers throughout central Wisconsin: coaches, booster club leaders, adminstration, volunteers, you name it. Send us your nominations for who you’d like us to interview HERE

College Athlete Roundup! We want to recognize student-athletes from the area who are competing at the college level. Send us information on college athletes from the area with our simple form HERE

Where are they Now? We feature athletes and difference makers  from the past, standouts in sports who excelled over the years and have moved on. Know of a former athlete, coach or difference maker who we should feature? Know of a former standout competitor whose journey beyond central Wisconsin sports is one we should share? Send us information on athletes and difference makers of the past with our simple form HERE 

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!

David Keech
Author: David Keech

David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]