South looks to add boys’ volleyball and flag football to athletics offerings.

It’s not common for schools to add new sports onto their offered line up, but South does have a few possible emerging activities that we may start seeing in the coming seasons. In order for a sport to be recognized by Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) it has to have at least 50 schools actively participating, but for it to be recognized as an emerging activity, it needs only 25 schools to actively participate. 

Currently in Oregon, 32 schools actively participate in boys’ volleyball, and this number has been steadily rising over the past years as interest rises. However, in the past, surveys have been sent to athletic directors around the district, and interest in starting boys’ volleyball teams isn’t very high. 

One of the struggles that comes with introducing emerging activities to South is the fact that coaching is based on volunteers. This means that finding good coaches who are willing to put time and effort into the team for free is a challenge. Along with this, the school must meet requirements from the district when it comes to adding new activities, such as risk management and transportation. However, depending on the level of interest for boys’ volleyball, it’s not out of the question for South as it isn’t a high demand sport as far as equipment is concerned. South already has the basic necessary equipment due to the girls volleyball teams so if male athletes continue to show interest in starting volleyball then it’s very possible. 

On a different end of the scale, South might be introducing a new activity this spring as talk of a new flag football team circles. Unlike boys’ volleyball, flag football doesn’t have to worry about coaching as one of the varsity football coaches has already volunteered to coach the team if it is created. There are still other issues, like with boys’ volleyball, that happen at the district level that might prevent it from becoming an activity offered by South, but if things work out it’s possible one could see flag football as an offered activity in the spring season. 

South hasn’t seen any new activities added to the list of options in a while, so to have two new possible activities on the horizon is very exciting. Of course, it’s more difficult to get things to go through at the district level, but with enough pushing, it’s possible to get both boys’ volleyball and flag football added to the options at South with enough interest. Adding new activities and sports to South means there will be even more options out there for students to try. 

Article by Maggie McMillen