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Q&A with OHSAA
associate commissioner Deborah Moore
Feb. 24, 2009
It should
come as no surprise that the Ohio High School Athletic Association
Board of Directors recently voted to keep the state high school
swimming and diving championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium in
Canton for the next 10 years. After all, the state’s largest
natatorium should house the state’s largest high school swimming and
diving competition.
This week, the finals return to
Branin, where once again every one of the 2,400 seats will be filled
as the Canton McKinley marching band enters for the opening
ceremonies.
Countless world-class swimmers and
divers have competed in Branin, which has hosted the boys state high
school championships since 1976 and the girls state high school
championships since 1980. Chagrin Falls, Ohio, native Diana Munz, a
2000 Olympic gold medalist and three-time Olympic medalist overall,
still holds the state record in the 500 yard freestyle.
Who will be the next Diana Munz? Stay
tuned.
OHSAA.org caught up with associate
commissioner Dr. Deborah Moore this week to talk about the 2009
swimming and diving championships.
Q: There is a new division for the
boys this year. What is that process?
A: Boys swimming and diving has now
qualified enough teams to warrant a second division. Last year we
had 251 schools that had full teams and the board agreed there
should be two divisions in boys swimming and diving this year. There
has been an increase in participation for boys, enough so that they
have reached the threshold and surpassed it by one school. Girls
swimming and diving has always had more interest from students than
the boys, and that’s not just in our state, but across the country.
Q: What does it take for a
student-athlete or team to qualify for the state finals?
A: They have all, at least the
swimmers, been through sectional competition, district competition,
and now this will be the third and final level. Divers, in some
districts, have just one level of qualifying rounds. About 380 girls
schools and 320 boys schools have at least one swimmer or diver
competing at the state meet. There will be around 1,200
student-athletes that qualify for state and about 250 different
schools represented.
Q: For someone who has not been to
Branin Natatorium in Canton, what can they expect?
A: It’s beautiful and has a very
electric atmosphere. It’s an older facility, but it’s an excellent
deep-water pool with state of the art components. It is a wonderful
spectator facility with seating on three sides. It’s the largest
venue for swimming in our state.
Q: What does it mean for high school
swimming and diving to follow the Olympics?
A: Coming off an
Olympiad, there is greater interest in Olympic sports, of which
swimming and diving is certainly one of those. That just bleeds over
into our interscholastic realm. Michael Phelps and Dara Torres and
some of the stars of the Beijing Olympics have really created a lot
of interest for swimming and diving in the United States.
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ohsaa.org ###
Contact: Tim Stried,
tstried@ohsaa.org |
