Alaska School Activities Association Serves 35,000 Students

By Bob Herman

More than 6,600 miles of state coastline and more than twice the size of Texas. These sizable figures describe the one and only state of Alaska, and even though Alaska has only been an official state since 1959, its high school sports association dates back even further.

In 1956 - when Alaska was still an organized territory - the Western Alaska Activities Association combined with the Southeast Alaska Activities Association to form the governing body of today: the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA).

The ASAA has been located in Anchorage since its inception because Anchorage is the largest city in the state. It is also the most centrally located, making it the easiest location for transportation and ASAA state championship tournaments.

Like other state high school association across the contiguous United States, the ASAA supports interscholastic activities that stay true with the academic missions of schools. The ASAA follows a mission of its own:

"To advocate participation in co-curricular activities; to regulate sanctioned interscholastic activities, contests and programs; and to promote the academic and social development of students."

Administrative staff

There are four full-time staff members of the ASAA.

Gary Matthews heads the planning and operation of the ASAA as the executive director. He has been the executive director for the past 15 years, and he has been in the education field for 42 years. Matthews, who was a previous music teacher, athletic director and principal, also oversees eligibility determinations. He is Alaska's representative on the National Federation Council, and he is the primary contact for the Alaska High School Hall of Fame and the Alaska Endowment for Youth Activities Program.

When it comes to the state championship event coordination and management, John Andrews is the go-to guy. He is the director of special events and Web site content manager, and has been in those positions for the past seven years. His 41-year teaching résumé includes duties as a teacher, official, coach and athletic director. Andrews also maintains the ASAA state records and all other historical data, and he communicates with media sources, coaches and athletic directors through biweekly electronic newsletters and general e-mails.

The day-to-day office operations are managed by Lavonne Norman, a 12-year veteran with the ASAA. As the director of operations and marketing, she supervises all administrative assistants, takes minutes at meetings and is the main contact for public relations and marketing issues. Norman is the NFHS state spirit team director and handles all statewide spirit programs.

Associate Director Rus Schreckenghost is in his first year with the ASAA. He holds the overall responsibility for officials registration and state tournament selection and assignment, among other tasks. Schreckenghost has been a teacher, coach and athletic director during his 30 years in the education field.

Governance

There were only 25 schools when the ASAA started in 1956, but now there are more than 200 member schools. School enrollments range from five students to more than 2,300 students. Overall, 148 of the schools have an enrollment of less than 100 students. The ASAA serves more than 35,000 student-athletes and participants (which is considerably less than the 950,000-plus caribou in Alaska, but thankfully caribou aren't factored in to interscholastic activities).

Fourteen private schools are a part of the 200 total member schools. There is a private school association, but it does not have the same following as the ASAA due to the small populations.

A total of nine members comprise the ASAA Board. A separate person represents each of the six geographic regions in the state; one represents the state school board association; one represents the state superintendents association; and one student represents the state student government association.

Championship Competition

The ASAA sponsors 36 sports in boys and girls sports, fine arts and academic activities.

The boys sports include cross country, tennis, swimming and diving, Nordic skiing, basketball, track and field, soccer and baseball.

The girls sports include cross country, tennis, swimming and diving, volleyball, Nordic skiing, basketball, track and field, soccer and softball.

The coed activities that have state championships include football, volleyball, wrestling, hockey, cheer, student government, music, solo and ensemble, world language declamation, art and drama/debate/forensics.

Basketball and girls volleyball are the only sports that have more than two classifications. Boys and girls basketball has four classes while girls volleyball has three classes.

Issues and Involvement

Although Alaska's isolated beauty makes it a one-of-a-kind state in the country, it also presents many different issues. High costs, minimal transportation and low population density (the lowest in the United States) have raised some red flags, and it includes some parts within the ASAA.

Matthews said that "season overlap in sports, transiency of population, high travel costs for traveling teams, a new statewide controlled substance policy and a coaches education compliance" are some of the key issues in Alaska at this time. Perhaps one of the most pressing issues involves the general state of funding for the high schools.

"Because the State of Alaska does not consider interscholastic activities to be an essential part of a student's education, activities costs are not included as part of the basic education funding formula, which is designated for instruction," Matthews said. "The remaining available funds have not kept up with rising costs. Consequently, many schools are faced with a dilemma - increasing expectations by parents and students while available funds are stagnant or decreasing.

"This has literally forced some schools to reach out to community groups to fund and administer some sports programs."

The North Slope oil fields profits - which account for roughly 80 percent of Alaska's annual budget - have also helped high school that have struggled with funding.

"Alaska's unique method of school funding depends primarily on royalty from the North Slope oil fields," Matthews said. "Some areas of the state are unincorporated with no local government and no local tax support. In those areas, the state provides 100 percent of the school funds."

Another unique issue the ASAA has addressed involves the ethnic diversity throughout the state. Matthews said there are several languages spoken in Anchorage's eight large public high schools.

"One of the ASAA's longtime, ongoing goals has been to seek and promote opportunities to showcase the state's cultural diversity within the realm of interscholastic activities," Matthews said. "In line with this, the ASAA has sponsored a number of cultural activities in conjunction with state tournaments, competitions and festivals."

Bob Herman was a fall semester intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. He is a junior at Butler (Indiana) University, majoring in journalism (news editorial) and minoring in Spanish.