Delta rifle team seeks return of Friday postal matches

Three Delta High School rifle team members were noticeably absent from Friday afternoon’s matches at the local Sportsman Club, a change from previous years when members of the team were allowed to leave school early to compete in Friday postal matches.

Two of the shooters who were able to attend Friday’s match are Alaska Homeschool students, while two others participate in afternoon distance learning and take college courses. Other team members who attend Delta High School were not granted permission to leave school for the match.

The decision breaks with a practice established in previous years, when Friday postal matches were arranged and approved by school administration.

A postal match allows competitors to fire at their home ranges using approved targets. The targets are then collected and scored as part of the competition, allowing teams from different locations to compete without all traveling to the same range.

According to rifle coach Jason Corell, the Delta team has traditionally held its postal matches on Friday.

“Three years ago, I became a board member at Sportsman’s, and we agreed to let the team shoot on Friday afternoons with an end time of 4 p.m., now 3:30 p.m.,” Corell explained.

He said the team had received permission from previous school administrators to release students at lunchtime for the Friday matches. Corell said the Friday schedule was established in part because other teams in the Fairbanks area hold their postal matches on Fridays. That schedule gives Delta shooters four days of practice before the Friday postal match, followed by Saturday competition when teams meet in person.

Superintendent Michael Lee admitted that as principal, and then last year as superintendent, he was remiss allowing Friday afternoons off for postal matches.

“I didn’t catch it at the time,” Lee said. “If I had, we could have worked out a solution.”

As it stands, Lee said there has been a breakdown in communication, and he intends to find out where and why. 

“It was agreed at the onset of rifle season, postal matches would not consume the Friday afternoon,” said Lee. “So something happened with the lines of communication.”

In a statement to parents, Lee wrote, “DGSD supports the rifle team and its continued participation in postal matches. The district has not prohibited the team from completing postal matches on Fridays or from participating in its season. Our concern is much narrower; we are asking the program to reduce avoidable loss of instructional time whenever reasonable alternatives are available. We recognize that students participating in multiple sports and activities can accumulate significant absences over the course of the year. That makes it even more important for us to protect classroom time when we have the ability to do so. Our goal is not to reduce student opportunities. Our goal is to provide as many opportunities as possible while also protecting the academic success of the participating students.”

Corell said changing the schedule would reduce the team's practice opportunities and could affect its ability to remain competitive.

“Our range being only five lanes also limits our practices during the week,” he explained. “Each kid generally only gets one hour per day if we have eight or more kids. So having four days is ideal and will make us more competitive with the other teams.”

Corell said the team's regular practice schedule has also changed slightly, with practices currently running from approximately 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., rather than the previously scheduled 6 to 8 p.m.

But Lee said he does not object to a middle-of-the road solution

“If the students could shoot Fridays from 2-5 p.m. they would only miss, say, an hour of instruction,” Lee said. “Ideally, they could alternate, whereby on a Monday they shoot in the morning and yes, they could possibly miss the first hour, but it would be a different class.”  

Corell said practice time is highly important as rifle competition differs from many other high school sports because coaches cannot actively coach athletes during a match.

“That is a very big difference in our sport compared to other sports,” Corell asserted. “I am not allowed to coach during a match. The shooters are on their own. I cannot tell them to move position, stance, take a break, etc., whereas every other sport can coach, substitute, or call plays.”

“This is one main reason for wanting as much practice time as possible, so we as coaches can coach,” he said.

Mathea Rasmussen, parent of two rifle team members, also expressed concern about the change.

“They said academics come first, but if you are failing, you simply do not compete until you bring your grades back up,” Rasmussen said. “That stands for all extracurricular activities.”

Rasmussen said she believes the current policy creates a distinction between the rifle team and other school activities.

“They are basically saying since we are not traveling outside the district, no students will be released,” she said.

Lee pointed out that no way is the rifle team being targeted.  

“We know all extra curricular activities will bring some loss of instruction time, but we try to limit that loss,” he emphasized. “It has been proven time and time again the loss of more than 10 percent of a student’s seat time puts students at a distinct disadvantage educationwise.  

“We do this with all extra curricular activities, not just sports,” explained Lee. “If there is a way to lessen the loss of class time, we will pursue that. We justify any loss of instruction regardless of activities. This goes for speeches, assemblies – how can we mitigate the loss of classroom instruction? Our running theme through the district this school year is ‘Every Moment Matters.’”

Lee said at one time the Delta High School utilized an athletics and activities committee to provide multiple perspectives on issues affecting student activities and improve communication surrounding the decisions. He wrote in his newsletter his intent to work with the high school to establish that committee. 

With five postal matches remaining in the season, both Rasmussen and Corell said they hope the issue can be resolved so that all eligible Delta shooters have the opportunity to compete.   He pointed out that under the previous Friday postal matches, Delta High sent three shooters on to Junior Olympics in the past two years.

“We just want to be competitive and be treated with the same benefits as any other sport,” Corell said.

Lee said in no way does he want to detract from the merits of the rifle team. 

“We are proud of our students who participate in rifle and in all our athletic and extracurricular programs,” Lee said in his letter. “We want them to compete, represent Delta well, and enjoy the opportunities these programs provide. We also want them in the classrooms whenever possible. This is not a choice between supporting rifle and supporting academics. We can – and should – do both.”

In the meantime, Lee said he intends to find out where the miscommunication occurred and why. He will be meeting with Corell on Friday to work toward a solution.

“In the meantime, I sent out a community statement with additional information,” said Lee. “I want people to know we do indeed support our rifle team and are looking to resolve this issue allowing students to compete while still protecting instructional time whenever possible.”

Delta High School Principal Shannon Jones was unavailable for comment before press time.

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