The high school sports season has come to a close for the school year in Delaware, but for Kevin Charles, the work is just beginning.
Charles, the executive director for the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, is in the process of preparing the DIAA budget for the 2010-2011 year, as well as getting ready for the fall season.
Most people, however, don’t know what the DIAA is or how it governs its 41 member schools, so he sat down with the Dover Post June 10 to discuss the organization’s finer points and mission.
Q The DIAA is made up of three employees, but how much deeper does the operation go?
A It’s a cadre of 250 volunteers. The only way we can do what we do is because we have people that serve as volunteers on our sports and other various committees. The way the DIAA is organized, for every sport there is a committee that is charged with running the state tournament and then advising DIAA on matters concerning that sport. They’re the experts in the sport, so we go to them for when we have an issue. So those people are unpaid, but we do give the chairs of each one of those committees a small stipend to help defray some of their costs
Q What is the mission of the DIAA?
A We’re established in Delaware law, and our mission is to promote the educational significance of interscholastic athletics as well as try to maintain the appropriate balance between education and athletics. Obviously, athletics is important, but education is why we send our kids to school. In addition to that, we try to create a level playing field for our member schools, and promote the health and safety of the students that are participating in our sports.
Q With the growing number of club sports teams, how does that affect the programs offered by your member schools?
A Sports used to be primarily a recreation. It’s something you did for fun, physical activity, growth, development and that sort of thing. For many, it’s become a vocation, and the job is the pursuit of a non-existent athletic college scholarship. The reality is … 99% of these kids are going to go on to college or do something else in their life, but it’s not going to be with an athletic-based scholarship.
Q What effects does the pursuit of the scholarship have on the athlete?
A Another thing that has resulted from that is the tremendous growth in overuse injuries. They’re seeing injuries in 12-year-olds that they used to only see in professional athletes in their late 30s. That whole emphasis on the college scholarship has driven students to specialize, and the specialization has driven up the overuse injuries in sports.
Q So specialization runs contrary to what the DIAA promotes?
A You learn something from each sport you play and it’s a healthier experience. Cal Ripken was a three-sport athlete in high school, and he will tell you that he learned something from each sport that resulted in him being a Hall of Fame baseball player. If you’re an athlete, you can hone your skills and develop them, and learn from all the different sports you play. I would like to see less pressure on kids to play the same sport year round, to just have fun and to see kids play for the original reason why we offer them.
Q How does the DIAA generate revenue to cover its expenses, such as state tournaments?
A The revenue comes primarily from ticket sales. The revenue from ticket sales will be 80% to 85% of our income. Ten percent comes from our member schools’ dues and the remainder is from our corporate partners.
Q Because the dues are technically taxpayers’ money, where does that go?
A We pass that through to pay for catastrophic health insurance and liability insurance. Catastrophic health insurance is for the students and the liability insurance protects our schools when we use them for tournaments. That money just passes straight through and there is no profit there for us. We want to meet expenses through corporate partners and ticket sales.
Q Even though corporate partnerships are only a small portion of the revenue generated, is there ever a concern that through those the athletics could become commercialized?
A We would certainly like for high school sports to remain at a minimum in the area of commercialization. If we want to continue to operate or provide at the same level, and yet the tax revenue is not there, that revenue has to come from somewhere. So you begin to look at ways to have a symbiotic relationship where it’s a win-win-win. The student wins because we continue to provide the service, we win because we get the revenue to provide the service, and then in a tasteful appropriate way, the corporate partner wins because they get recognition and an association with a healthy, wholesome activity. We try to be subtle and low-key with it.
