| Written by Staci Gasser |
| Wednesday, 08 August 2012 00:00 |
|
Arizona high schools are still getting accustomed to the Arizona Interscholastic Associationâs changes put in place last year, and they will still feel the effects throughout this year.
âThe AIA changes changed our schedule,â said John Parks, the athletic director of Sedona Red Rock High School. âThe schools that we got matched up with are bigger schools, and they are good bigger schools.â Parks, who has been SRRHSâs athletic director for 10 years, explained the new system created a tougher schedule for the athletic teams. SRRHS is now playing teams from schools that are three times its size. That can affect a small schoolâs chances of making it to state playoffs because other teams have a bigger pool of talent to choose from. SRRHS was a 2A school in the old system, but now it is playing 4A schools. âThe new system has helped with our transportation costs and has decreased the time the kids are out of class because of traveling to a game,â Parks said. Yet, even with the new system in place, SRRHS had a pretty good year in sports. The swimming team took eighth in the Arizona State Swimming and Diving Finals, the volleyball team made an appearance in the final four, the girlâs cross-country team took third in the state championship â even though Mykala Seresun finished the race first â the boys track and field finished second in the state championship and girlâs basketball made it to the first round of the state championship tournament. For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 8, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News. |



The changes regrouped Arizona school districts so that the high school athletic teams would play teams closer to home, decreasing the time and cost of travel. They also condensed the previous conferences in order to have fewer state championships which saves money for the state.