It has come to my attention that the Lake Stevens School District is deciding to eliminate competitive sports for North Lake Middle School once the eighth graders become part of the mid-high school next year. It is my strong opinion that North Lake should keep competitive sports.
Interscholastic sports provide an excellent experience for seventh graders. I know that I, and many of my friends, highly anticipated playing sports for our school. Even if intramural sports are added, the excitement of competing with other schools would be lost. Also, some sports get much more intense in high school. Cross country courses are twice as long in high school as in middle school, and it is much harder to make the basketball and volleyball teams. Plus, there is no “Boys and Girls Club” or “LSJAA” track or cross country. Middle school is the ideal time for kids to try out new sports without the intensity of high school.
I think that school clubs and competitive sports can co-exist at North Lake without having to eliminate one altogether. A few years ago there were clubs like the Yearbook Committee and the “Flight Simulator” Club, and last year a Newspaper Club for a time. We also have ASB committees that anyone can get involved in but most just don’t know about. If some of these clubs could come back and were better publicized, I think many would jump at the opportunity to be involved. I don’t think taking sports away will increase the number of people in after-school activities; I believe the numbers would dramatically decrease. Just look at the number of kids who currently participate in after-school sports!
I think the best way to get students to participate in after-school activities is to expand the variety of them, not eliminate sports.
Juliana Borges
North Lake 8th grader
Lake Stevens
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