Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
SAN JON — Citing competitive, travel and academic issues, the San Jon Municipal Schools board of trustees voted last week to withdraw from the annual Eastern Plains Athletic Conference boys and girls basketball tournaments held each January.
The board during its Sept. 13 meeting unanimously approved the withdrawal but wanted San Jon to remain in the EPAC track and field meet, generally held at Fort Sumner, each spring. Board members still wanted to leave the basketball tournaments even if San Jon wasn’t allowed to remain in the EPAC track event.
Both of San Jon’s basketball teams were winless during the abbreviated spring 2021 season. Girls basketball coach Jaree Elliott noted the boys team also faces a rebuilding year after its best player graduated.
She said small programs such as San Jon’s seldom are competitive at the tournament, which features Class 2A Texico and perennial 1A title contender Melrose.
“It’s tough knowing you’re going to get your teeth kicked in,” she said.
Board President Frank Gibson made his feelings known about the EPAC tournaments at the beginning of the discussion.
“All they want us for is money. Screw them,” he said. “It doesn’t do us any good for us to go down there and take a lashing.”
Elliott noted the tournaments are during the first week schools are back in session after Christmas break. She said students’ classwork often suffers that week because of the multiple nights of travel to the tournaments.
“The kids are fried,” she said.
Elliott said she believed San Jon could organize its own basketball tournaments with similar-size schools.
Athletic Director Tyra Moore said the EPAC tournaments are supposed to be hosted by each participant school every few years but noted that hasn’t happened because organizers say there aren’t enough restaurants in the smaller towns to feed spectators between games.
Elliott doubted there were be many repercussions with Regional Education Cooperative No. 6, which organizes the tournaments, from the withdrawals. She noted Dora or Tatum left the EPAC event a few years ago, and “I don’t think anybody beat the door down to replace them.”
One other effect from the EPAC withdrawal is the loss of two scholarships awarded during its annual banquet.
“We can probably come up with our own scholarship and save money,” Gibson said.
An email to Regional Education Cooperative No. 6 requesting comment was not returned.
In other sports-related business:
• The board approved a $5,712.24 bid from Nevco of Greenville, Illinois, for a new scoreboard for the small gymnasium. Though the district had a cheaper bid of $3,995 from Varsity Scoreboard of Kentucky, Moore recommended the Nevco because its controller was more “user friendly” and a cleaner design. Another bid came in for $9,260 from Electro-Mech of Georgia.
• Moore informed the board about the GoFan touchless digital ticketing platform that Gibson said might prove useful if San Jon hosts tournaments. Spectators can purchase game tickets via the platform’s app or use a QR code posted near the entrance to access the ticket-buying site. GoFan then sends the school districts a check each week from game revenue.
For now, the district has placed a donation box near the entrance of games to help cover expenses. The district also gains some revenue from streaming its games on the internet.