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Mar. 14—HURON — The officiating crew is a little bigger than normal this week for the Class B state basketball tournament.
Yes, there's the three officials on the court for each game, 12 of them in all working in Huron. And then on Thursday, there were two youth-level junior officials for each game, one picked from each school playing in the state quarterfinal round.
Longtime high school sports official Matt Clark, who is one of the officials working the Class B tournament, said the idea came from seeing coverage at the Summit League tournament of a similar effort to give young kids the chance to interact with officials by designating an "honorary official of the game." That is sponsored by Officially Human, an organization that seeks to restore respect for game officials working sporting events.
The start of each game on Thursday at the Class B state tournament had the standard three officials on the court for starting lineups, joined by two junior officials. Each of the junior officials received a t-shirt and got to observe the pregame routine of officials during warmups and the captain's meetings before the game at midcourt.
"I saw the Summit League did something similar and my brain started rolling and I am usually up for a crazy idea," Clark said. "The SDHSAA said if I could get it rolling, they'd be for it. I wanted to have the schools involved and I wanted to have t-shirts made and we were able to get it put together on short notice."
Since Clark came up with the state tournament plan on Monday, there was a little bit of a rush to get everything in place but he credited Sun Gold Sports for sponsoring the t-shirts and putting them together in a quick turnaround.
Efforts like this come against an unseemly backdrop. Sports of all ages and organizations have struggled with recruiting and retaining officials, frequently because of mistreatment and verbal abuse from fans, players and coaches.
"I think it's good to have a little recognition and try to foster some of that sportsmanship, because we are human," said Clark, who grew up in Gregory and lives in Huron. "If we are able to show what we do to a little kid, maybe in 10 or 15 years they'll want to become an official, too. If we can do that, that's what we need."
Clark, who officiates football, basketball and baseball and has done each of them for more than 30 years. This is his 17th state tournament as a basketball official and he's worked more than 75 games this season.
"It's a fun thing," he said. "When I work games, I want to enjoy what I'm doing and if we can get young people to buy in on how great this can be, I'm all for it."
In Class B basketball this season, it's been about the road to Huron and the state tournament.
But no other team has quite the support on the actual road to Huron quite like Sanborn Central/Woonsocket.
For much of the 20-mile drive north on State Highway 37 from Highway 34 to the Huron Arena, Sanborn Central/Woonsocket fans have placed signs along the northbound lanes of the road, providing some final words of encouragement to the team and their fans this week when they head to the state tournament.
"That's what we've talked about all year, let's get to Huron," SCW coach Rob Baruth said. "Let's play our last three games of the year in Huron at the state tournament."
The signs are spaced out every mile or two. There are hay bales stacked with the message "Go Blackhawks" and specific messages for many of the players on the team, as well. They are the closest team to qualify for this season's tournament, less than 25 miles from Woonsocket and 27 miles from Sanborn Central's campus in Forestburg.
"Blackhawk Nation is great, they always have been," said Baruth, who has been a part of each of the co-op's five trips to the state tournament, all taking place at the Huron Arena. "There's a strong group of fans and parents and supporters that always support this team so well, setting up the hospitality room and supporting the members of our team. That's what makes SCW so great and that's why the state tournament is a special experience."
It's a new era at the Huron Arena.
For the first time in the history of the state tournaments in Huron, fans are able to see a replay of the action, thanks to the recent scoreboard and video display upgrades to the 1951-built venue.
Daktronics recently installed new videoboards on the south end of the arena, ribbon boards on the north end of the arena, and a new four-sided center-hung scoreboard, plus a new scorer's table that can show video as well.
The upgrades cost the Huron School District about $1.5 million and replaced the previous 20-year-old systems. Huron has hosted 10 of the last 13 Class B girls state tournaments, although it's not set to host in 2026 or 2027, with those tournaments going to Brookings and Watertown, respectively.
Continue reading...
Yes, there's the three officials on the court for each game, 12 of them in all working in Huron. And then on Thursday, there were two youth-level junior officials for each game, one picked from each school playing in the state quarterfinal round.
Longtime high school sports official Matt Clark, who is one of the officials working the Class B tournament, said the idea came from seeing coverage at the Summit League tournament of a similar effort to give young kids the chance to interact with officials by designating an "honorary official of the game." That is sponsored by Officially Human, an organization that seeks to restore respect for game officials working sporting events.
The start of each game on Thursday at the Class B state tournament had the standard three officials on the court for starting lineups, joined by two junior officials. Each of the junior officials received a t-shirt and got to observe the pregame routine of officials during warmups and the captain's meetings before the game at midcourt.
"I saw the Summit League did something similar and my brain started rolling and I am usually up for a crazy idea," Clark said. "The SDHSAA said if I could get it rolling, they'd be for it. I wanted to have the schools involved and I wanted to have t-shirts made and we were able to get it put together on short notice."
Since Clark came up with the state tournament plan on Monday, there was a little bit of a rush to get everything in place but he credited Sun Gold Sports for sponsoring the t-shirts and putting them together in a quick turnaround.
Efforts like this come against an unseemly backdrop. Sports of all ages and organizations have struggled with recruiting and retaining officials, frequently because of mistreatment and verbal abuse from fans, players and coaches.
"I think it's good to have a little recognition and try to foster some of that sportsmanship, because we are human," said Clark, who grew up in Gregory and lives in Huron. "If we are able to show what we do to a little kid, maybe in 10 or 15 years they'll want to become an official, too. If we can do that, that's what we need."
Clark, who officiates football, basketball and baseball and has done each of them for more than 30 years. This is his 17th state tournament as a basketball official and he's worked more than 75 games this season.
"It's a fun thing," he said. "When I work games, I want to enjoy what I'm doing and if we can get young people to buy in on how great this can be, I'm all for it."
In Class B basketball this season, it's been about the road to Huron and the state tournament.
But no other team has quite the support on the actual road to Huron quite like Sanborn Central/Woonsocket.
For much of the 20-mile drive north on State Highway 37 from Highway 34 to the Huron Arena, Sanborn Central/Woonsocket fans have placed signs along the northbound lanes of the road, providing some final words of encouragement to the team and their fans this week when they head to the state tournament.
"That's what we've talked about all year, let's get to Huron," SCW coach Rob Baruth said. "Let's play our last three games of the year in Huron at the state tournament."
The signs are spaced out every mile or two. There are hay bales stacked with the message "Go Blackhawks" and specific messages for many of the players on the team, as well. They are the closest team to qualify for this season's tournament, less than 25 miles from Woonsocket and 27 miles from Sanborn Central's campus in Forestburg.
"Blackhawk Nation is great, they always have been," said Baruth, who has been a part of each of the co-op's five trips to the state tournament, all taking place at the Huron Arena. "There's a strong group of fans and parents and supporters that always support this team so well, setting up the hospitality room and supporting the members of our team. That's what makes SCW so great and that's why the state tournament is a special experience."
It's a new era at the Huron Arena.
For the first time in the history of the state tournaments in Huron, fans are able to see a replay of the action, thanks to the recent scoreboard and video display upgrades to the 1951-built venue.
Daktronics recently installed new videoboards on the south end of the arena, ribbon boards on the north end of the arena, and a new four-sided center-hung scoreboard, plus a new scorer's table that can show video as well.
The upgrades cost the Huron School District about $1.5 million and replaced the previous 20-year-old systems. Huron has hosted 10 of the last 13 Class B girls state tournaments, although it's not set to host in 2026 or 2027, with those tournaments going to Brookings and Watertown, respectively.
Continue reading...
