Sportsmanship - Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association

Winter Sportsmanship Award Recipients Named

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, in cooperation with Rural Mutual Insurance Company, has selected the team Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2021 Winter State Tournaments.

Sportsmanship Plus - Wrestling

Dodgeland Quadrangular
Jan. 14, 2021

This event was amazing. With the troubling times, the teams came together to make this very enjoyable experience for the wrestlers. It started days ahead with the Dodgeland AD reaching out to everyone with expectations and a plethora of information to make sure everyone was safe. The coaches did the best they could to get match-ups for their wrestlers, with minimal concern for team scores It was all about the kids. Kudos to the coaches for that! And lastly, almost every wrestler that competed came up to thank the officials for working the quad. This morning, not to my surprise, we all received an email from the Dodgeland AD for a job well done. Class act all the way around, and all four programs need to be recognized for their sportsmanship and doing the best they could for the wrestlers.

Reporting Official: Billy Kraus

Fall Tournament Sportsmanship Award Winners Selected

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, in cooperation with Rural Mutual Insurance Company, has selected the team Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2020 fall State Tournaments.

Sportsmanship Plus - Football

D.C. Everest @ Hortonvile
Oct. 2, 2020

Games like the one we were so fortunate to work on Oct. 2 are exactly the blueprint for why we all feel high school athletics are so very important. The teams were very competitive, and the spirit level and play level was very high. More importantly, the sportsmanship level was even higher. Both schools/communities need to be extremely proud of their teams. The young men involved should be commended on how the contest was played. In these tough times, this is crystal clear reminder of why officials are willing to put time and effort in. Coaches...fans...total positive experience. Please accept my crew’s’ congratulations on your efforts. Thanks and please stay safe.

Reporting Official: Richard Hohl

Sportsmanship Plus - Girls Volleyball

Sportsmanship Plus - Boys Soccer

WIAA Winter Team Tournament Sportsmanship Awards Selected

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, in cooperation with Rural Mutual Insurance, has chosen the recipients of the team sportsmanship awards for the 2020 winter State Tournaments.

Sportsmanship Plus - Girls Basketball

Weston @ Necedah
Jan. 27, 2020

I have officiated many times at Necedah and each and every time for the last 2-3 years of going there, the level of attention to detail from the WON 80 Club at Necedah gets better and better. Part of this movement is to show appreciation for sports officials by providing them snack bags with various treats for officials to eat in the locker room or in the car ride home. These great efforts start with leadership and teacher, Mark Horbinski, deserves a tremendous amount of credit for taking leadership of the young people at Necedah High School who help Mark make up the treat bags needed for each and every home game. Bags also go to the visiting team from each contest and the event staff who make things possible, so it is a ton of work. The best part of the bags is the personal touch of a hand written note from a student at the high school and this is just a tremendous undertaking and it does not go unnoticed. Thank you Mark Horbinski and the WON 80 Organization at Necedah for the great work you do around sportsmanship. Keep up the excellence!

Reporting Official: Brian Kenney

Sportsmanship Plus - Boys Basketball

Big Foot @ McFarland
Feb. 4, 2020

I have had the privilege to officiate two games this season for Big Foot's boys varsity basketball program. The first game I officiated them in was early in the season they lost. The second game, they won. Although both games had different results, the sportsmanship and respect to opposing players and officials in both contests is what stood out the most to me. I thank the Big Foot players for showing good sportsmanship and staying composed in game situations where things could have escalated. Big Foot a helped opposing players up, chased after loose for the officials, staying composedd and ultimately playing their game. Thank you for being great examples of sportsmanship looks like at a TEAM level. To Coach Price and the rest of the coaching staff. Thank you for asking legitimate questions and hearing us out with your concerns throughout these contests and quite simply trusting us by letting us officials do our job while you do yours. Keep up the great work!

Reporting Official: Brooks McMahon

Sportsmanship Plus - Boys Basketball

Pardeeville @ Fall River
Jan. 24, 2020

I would like to commend both coaches on displaying outstanding sportsmanship during the game. The game had a great flow to it and both teams played extremely hard without any problems. I compliment both coaches for coaching their players and watching them play hard. Congratulations to both coaches!!

Reporting Official: Tim Wagner