State swim staying at Waukesha South
STEVENS POINT - The WIAA plans to keep its state swimming and diving meets at Waukesha South for at least a few more years.
The state's high school sports governing body is seeking a three-year deal that would allow it to hold its state tournaments there, WIAA assistant director Tom Shafranski said after the Board of Control meeting Tuesday at the association's main offices.
The WIAA has held its state swimming and diving meet at South since fall 2020. The University of Wisconsin Natatorium had been home to the meet since 1966, but the event was moved to South due to the pandemic.
This university campus re-opened its doors this school year, but seating limitations at the newly-built Soderholm Family Aquatic Center at the Nicholas Recreation Center make it difficult for the WIAA hold its meet there. The old UW Natatorium has been torn down.
Shafranski said the WIAA hoped it would be able to seat 1,000 fans at the new pool. That number turned out to be 750. Rather than turn away fans away, the WIAA would like to keep the meet at South while it figures out if it can make a state meet work at Solderholm.
"We're thinking about different things. One idea is additional divisions, so that we might have a smaller number of participants involved (in each meet)," Shafranski said. "In swimming, you can really relate the number of participants in the meet to the number of people in the stands. You can average it to sixeight people that will follow an individual."
Meanwhile, Waukesha South has proved to be more than capable venue.
The facility is one of the biggest for a high school in the state with two grandstands, a warm-up pool and a clear view of the entire pool from every seat.
Also, the pool has proven to be a fast track for competitors. In two state meets, nine girls Division 1 and 2 meet records have been set and eight boys Division 1 and 2 meet marks have been established, including diving.
“The people have been extremely accommodating to working with us and it's worked out really, really well as a spot to have it,” Shafranski told the board.
Negotiations for track continue
While the WIAA appears set on a home for its state swimming and diving meets, the association has been negotiating with UW-La Crosse since September to continue holding its state track and field meet at Memorial Stadium.
WIAA executive director Stephanie Hauser said Tuesday that Explore La Crosse, the La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau, recently committed $125,000 to the association in each of the next five years to help it offset the losses that come from running the event. The meet loses about $125,000 per year, Hauser told the board.
“Prior to yesterday we were in fullactive mode of looking for another venue for this spring,” Hauser told the board. “We are just not able to operate an event with that type of loss, especially considering where we're at, still trying to recover from the financial impact of COVID.”
A deal still must be completed with UW-La Crosse, but Hauser sounded more optimistic.