STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Nearly 500 students and administrators of 77 teams representing 69 member high schools attended the 2014 WIAA/Rural Mutual Insurance Sportsmanship Summit in Stevens Point, Wis., Wednesday.
Schools from throughout the state representing all divisions were in attendance at the Holiday Inn & Convention Center. Each school was represented by at least one six-member team of students, school administrators, coaches, school board members and/or community leaders.
The mission of the Sportsmanship Summit was to strengthen the principles of sportsmanship by promoting teamwork through networking and the sharing of resources, and instilling the motivation to make a difference.
Participants received a variety of sportsmanship resources and articles to assist in developing an action plan for sportsmanship awareness at their school.
The Summit featured two keynote addresses and three time slots for five different break-out sessions, which focused on the ideals of sportsmanship/citizenship. The morning keynote address was presented by Craig Hillier, professional speaker and author of the book “Playing Beyond the Scoreboard.” The afternoon keynote address by Jessie Vetter, U.S. Women’s Olympic hockey team goalie, a three-time NCAA I champion with the Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team and a three-time WIAA State champion in girls’ soccer at Monona Grove.
Participants attended three morning break-out sessions. The subjects for the five break-out presentations available during the three time slots were “The Coach and Participant Roles in Sportsmanship” by Mark Maas, a veteran teacher and coach; “School Sportsmanship Expectations” by John Frizzell & Mel Dow of the WIAA Sportsmanship Committee; “Sportsmanship: The Officials Prospective” by Ken Koester, a veteran WIAA licensed official; “Creating Fans, Not Fanatics” by Dan Hoppe, Kim Kargus-Myers, and Rachel Ley representing the Wisconsin Association of School Councils; and a “Sportsmanship Roundtable Discussion” moderated by Shane Been and assisted by Nick Senger of the WIAA Sportsmanship Committee.
Together, schools, parents, booster clubs and communities can establish standards and expectations regarding good sportsmanship. Sportsmanship and good citizenship are the responsibility of everyone.
WIAA member schools that attended the Summit are listed below.
Amherst
Antigo
Ashland
Ashwaubenon
Belleville
Brillion
Brookfield Central (3 teams)
Brookfield East (2 teams)
Cambria-Friesland
Chilton
Crivitz
Cudahy
D.C. Everest
Darlington
De Pere
Deerfield (3 teams)
Delavan-Darien
Dodgeville
Divine Savior Holy Angels
Durand
Elkhorn Area
Hartford Union (2 teams)
Lena
Lomira
Luther
Madison Country Day
Madison Memorial
Manawa
Marion
Mauston
McFarland
Medford
Menomonee Falls
Middleton
Milwaukee Bradley Technical
Milwaukee Hamilton
Milwaukee Juneau
Milwaukee King
Milwaukee Madison
Milwaukee Riverside
Milwaukee Vincent
Milwaukee Washington
Monona Grove
New Berlin West
New Glarus
Pittsville
Pulaski (2 teams)
Racine Saint Catherine's
Randolph
Random Lake
Reedsville
Rhinelander
Rio (2 teams)
Seymour
Sheboygan Falls
Shell Lake
Sparta
Stoughton
Stratford
Tigerton
Tomahawk
Wauwatosa West
Wauzeka-Steuben
Wayland Academy
Westosha
Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln
Wittenberg-Birnamwood
Wrightstown
The membership of the WIAA oversees interscholastic athletic programs for 505 senior high schools and 45 junior high/middle level schools in its membership. It will sponsor 24 championship tournament series in 2014-15.
# WIAA #
Release prepared by WIAA Communications