Due to what is being chalked up as an administrative error, the Decatur High School swim team was unable to compete at the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) state meet last weekend. According to reports, the school’s athletic staff failed to submit proof of swimmers’ times, which is required to compete at the state meet.
Realizing the error prior to the start of the meet, City of Schools of Decatur Superintendent David Dude sent two letters pleading with the GHSA to make an exception to the circumstances. The first was sent on January 31st, 5 days after the January 26th proof-of-time submission deadline.
“We expect our student-athletes to be accountable to the rules, and it is appropriate to expect the same of those who coach them. Unfortunately, as I shared when we spoke, I cannot agree with punishing students for the failure of adults. The students have no control over the timely submission of these data. Consequently, I will be taking appropriate employment action to address the adult behaviors that allowed this problem to occur. As I also shared, I hope GHSA will consider alternatives such as levying a personal fine against the offending coach, prohibiting the individual from coaching a GHSA-sanctioned sport for a given time period, or some other appropriate punishment focused on the adult(s) rather than the kids. I appreciate that the GHSA Executive Committee will likely be discussing such a change in the near future.”
On Feb. 2, Dude sent additional correspondence with the following appeal:
“When I contacted you on Tuesday, January 31, I was truly hopeful that a rational outcome was imminent. The fact that our students continue to be punished for the actions of adults is incredibly frustrating, aggravating, and disappointing.”
Courtney Burnett, Communications Director for Decatur High School told local press that the team’s coach indeed missed the deadline to submit the results of qualifying.
“She’s saying she missed a deadline because she was ill,” Burnett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But our superintendent did reach out to the head (of GHSA) to ask if there was a way to make an exception. The answer was no.”
According to The AJC, the GHSA spokesman explained that the deadlines are firm and other teams have been excluded in previous years for being late.
This is like not allowing a football team who’s not lost a game to compete in the state championships because they failed to send in proof that they didn’t lose a game. The inplace software for GHSA probably has the capability to track all swimmers best times, if it doesn’t, it should.
I feel bad for the kids, but the coach simply did not do their job. The coach and school administrator received as many as 12 e mails from the GHSA, meet organizers and coaches in their own are reminding them throughout the season that the submission of times were required within 7 days of the swim. A required part of their certification to coach is an online rules clinic that outlines important rules for each season. The main emphasis of this online clinic is the proof of performance system and how it works. Specifically, there is a question that must be answered as part of the clinic that specifically outlines what happens if a time is not submitted within the… Read more »
Well said and glad to hear that notifications go out frequently. There was a comment below that couldn’t be truer about many AD’s just not giving a crap about swimming (probably goes for other sports like tennis, ABFB anything but football and basketball). No number of emails can fix that problem. It’s up to the parents to meet or contact the AD’s and be their swimmers advocate. You better believe football parents are vocal. If GHSA told these AD’s they would have to bench a starter for Basketball or Football state or playoff for violation of not sending proof of performance then we would have 100% compliance. Matter of fact, POP would be sent in the next day!
Emails – while important – could be supplemented with a phone call or three. Nothing like a real communication with a live person expressing concern, a few days before the deadline.
Somone needs to be FIRED at the GHSA! This is unacceptable. The swimmers only have 4 years / 4 chances to make the state meet. Some of those swimmers will only make it once. Very unfair to punish the swimmers for a coach issue. And the GHSA person is clearly incapable of making a proper and empathetic decision and should no longer have a job.
It is not hard to re-seed a meet. I’d like to understand why they made that decision.
This is just wrong! Our child was also a Georgia high school swimmer and state meet qualifier for 4 years. Unfortunately I observed that the GHSA seems to have bigger fish to fry in its oversight of other sports, such as football and basketball. The GHSA administration has no one with enough aquatic experience to understand how wrong this decision ( if it was even addressed) was. I am all for rules, but know that appeals are possible in other sports. I think those of us with a great deal of year round swim experience ( as a swimmer or a parent of one) understand that swimming and diving is just not on the radar for most state high school… Read more »
That’s what I had a feeling the issue was – lack of knowledge about swimming on GHSA part.
Swimming is objective. The kids made the qualifying times, they should have swum the meet.
GHSA needs to get themselves trained on swimming – it’s a big sport in GA!
It’s a sad, day when an administrative error prohibits swimmers who’ve worked hard all season not to swim in their championship meet due to no fault of their own. I have a senior swimmer, and I would have been really disappointed if she were not allowed to swim in her final high school meet due to an administrative error. In USA Swimming there’s a saying that the benefit of doubt always favors the swimmer when officiating; I would have thought with the time between the error and the actual meet that there could have been an accommodation made even if it was that those swimmers swim as exhibition swims not eligible for team points.
This exact request was made to GHSA and the head GHSA said there was no provision in the meet rules for a team to swim with no opportunity to earn points. He did have the power to make it happen, but seemed unwilling to risk the blowback. I think these guys just aren’t brave enough to look outside their rulebooks and make decisions that look to the best interests of the kids.
Very sad that they couldn’t find a way to do the right thing for the swimmers.
My son swam in the GHSA state meet. Another Georgia high school, Oconee County, failed to submit proof of performances as well. I verified this myself within the online proof of performance website. They apparently realized it late in the season and had to scramble to get all the times in the last meet. I too am troubled by this system of punishing swimmers. If you are going to punish swimmers, then allow the swimmer to submit the times or punish the school with a fine. This a broken system. I also don’t understand the HUGE disconnect between US Swimming and high school swimming with such archaic rules of not allowing USA Swim Coaches to be involved in high school… Read more »
All that coach had to do was follow simple instructions: submit the times within a week after them happening. Literally the entire state found a way to do that. I am sorry those kids had a crappy coach and AD, but POP exists because it would be easy for any coach to enter his seniors with made up times to get them a swim at state.
To your other point-I totally agree. Notably, GHSA has made exceptions for diving, as well as rural areas. But it needs to go farther and realize swimming does not have the money and corruption of AAU basketball.
It’s not just crappy coaches. Most swim teams for high school are lucky to get anyone for a swim coach! The meets are long, it’s a LOT of extra work for not a lot of pay. They often are just trying to figure out the lay of the land for regular meets. Many are using HyTek for the first time and I don’t know if you’ve used it but it hasn’t been the most user friendly software ever invented (it’s better than it was). These are not coaches reliving their glory days who would re-watch a 2 hour football game on Saturday that they just played Friday night! As far as just entering times, I just don’t buy that. No… Read more »
GHSA should host a meet for the student athletes. Let them swim for personal best times , and compare them to the State times. If I had been working and training for this time period I would want to race for my best time. I’m sorry to hear that this has happened before to other student athletes . I would want to know my time , especially if I had been training. Personal time trial . For the Seniors , as well the Juniors , Sophomores , Freshman. Time is time , and what you do with it is what is important.
Maybe the local should give out trophies to all the coaches who submit their entries on time. Trophies solve all problems.