This is a picture from the Coeur d'Alene High School's Invitational meet at the sit of the proposed Hayden Canyon Development. This project has been approved by the city of Hayden but not started yet due to the economy and therefore is still undeveloped property. It was really nice of the owners to let us use the land and it took a lot of hard work from the parents and coaches to put it together.
The back story is that the CDA High's Invitational meet has been held at Farragut State Park for over 20 years. This was a great tradition and a favorite of high school cross country runners over the years. Most cross country races are on golf courses or in grassy parks and the Farragut meet was always a cut above in terms of the variety of terrain and the beauty of the location.
Due to the new emphasis on the state parks' having to support themselves, the fees were increased until the school could no longer afford to host the meet at this spectacular location. This is a real shame considering that A) both the school and the park are state entities, B) the meet is in September when the park is basically empty, and C) the park collects parking fees from all the parents that show up to watch their kids run.
I understand the need to balance the state budget but hope someone in the state park administration will wake up and revisit their fee schedule for high school events such as this meet. A resource like Farragut is too great to put out of our children's reach.
No comments:
Post a Comment