Editor's Response

Here is what I heard back fro the Sports Editor of our local paper via email yesterday, following my letter--emailed--to him.

I first want to thank you for taking the time to send us such a carefully thought out email to discuss your point of view. I'm sure it required quite a bit of effort on your part as you attempted to express your disappointment in the lack of coverage for the swimming teams.

By way of response, let me assure you that I too am disappointed that we were unable to have a reporter at the event or at least have the results published in our paper. I sincerely appreciate all of the high school athletes and recognize that it requires incredible dedication and effort to be successful at any level. My goal as the sports editor (and as a former high school sports reporter) is to attempt to provide the most complete and exceptional high school athletics coverage possible.

There are, as you know, always scheduling issues to resolved as we attempt to utilize our few resources to appropriately represent what happens in Utah Valley. With schools belonging to at least six regions that include all five different classifications, it's a constant struggle.

I do, however, endeavor to make sure we get whatever we can from each event, particular region and state competitions. The problem in this case was that I wasn't aware of where or when the Region 4 swimming meet (or the swimming meets for any of the regions) was taking place. We rely on our network of coaches and athletic directors to make sure we have complete schedules but this particular meet was never brought to my attention.

As I'm sure you've seen, we also get a variety of results from coaches and parents that provide information on events we are not able to personally attend. In this case, however, none of the swimming results were called in or emailed to us, so we had no knowledge about what had taken place. If those had been received, we certainly would've gotten them both in the paper and onto our high school sports Web site.

With the upcoming state swimming meets taking place both this weekend and next, we are planning to have articles and coverage for every event. I hope your daughter qualified to compete there because it really is a great event to participate in.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to call me so we can discuss the matter further.

Again, thank you for your time and your enthusiasm for high school athletics.

J. L.
Daily Herald Sports Editor

Letter to the Editor

After waiting all week to see ANYTHING in the local paper about our swim team's region finals, I got mad enough to write a letter to the editor of our county paper.  Here it is.  I'll let you know if any of it gets printed.

Dear Editor:

I generally appreciate all the coverage of local high school sports. I love to hear about the athletes who play their hearts out for their schools.  However, this week I was really looking forward to seeing the results of the Region 4 (5A) Swim championships.  This event was held on Saturday, January 28th at the beautiful South Davis Recreation Center aquatic facility. 

As you know, Region 4 includes Lehi, American Fork, Lone Peak, Pleasant Grove, Riverton and Bingham high schools.  Considering that 4 of those 6 schools involved in this championship swim meet were Utah County schools, I figured The Daily Herald would cover it.  I hoped, at the very least, the results would be listed in the “scoreboard” section of the paper on Sunday or Monday.  I have been wrong in assuming that, as not a single word was mentioned.

I am a mom of a high school swimmer.  My daughter and many other high school swimmers have spent much their spare time since September —including over their Christmas vacation-- in the pool.  In our team’s case, much of that pool time is only available because they swim in a neighboring city’s pool because our own city pool is not just closed, but empty, from October through April.  These kids have to be really committed if they want to swim for our high school team. The swim season is the longest season of any of the local high school sports, as far as I can tell.  Yet, there is minimal or no coverage of their achievements in your paper.

I understand that the basketball games are better attended and more frequently played and that football and wrestling are more popular.  But, as the big local paper in the county, I would hope that all sports within the season would be covered by the paper.  Every student athlete is giving their all.  Every student athlete who has committed to playing for their school deserves some recognition. 

There were region records shattered at the swim meet Saturday.  Student athletes made personal best times and helped their schools advance to the state finals.  Coaches watched their student athletes achieve their goals.  Parents and families cheered on our kids until our voices were gone. All these kids had a great swim meet!  And it was a lot of fun to watch.

I urge you to please reconsider your coverage of ALL the high school sports.  Please include the lesser recognized sports each season and give those kids their due.  For most of these kids, their athletic career ends with their high school sports.  Please cover their achievements as well as those who may go on to sign with a Division I university.  Not every student chooses to play football or basketball. But they each have the same athletic heart and high school team spirit.  Please make it a point to celebrate those kids too.

Discovery Averts Disaster!

Yesterday I had the chance to make my time-wasting Pinterest hobby worthwhile. 

I was just sitting down with a (real fruit) raspberry lemonade from a lunch with friends when I moved the pillow, hit the cup, and dumped the whole thing on the front room rug. 

{YIKES! I was generally freaking out about what GG would say to this disaster! "That rug was so expensive...and YOU spill on it?!?"  Something like that.}

Then I remembered I had pinned a "carpet stain solution".  I ran to the computer to find the trick.  Sure enough, there it was.  Two simple ingredients and a different method of getting it out and I would be in the clear...after a run to the store for some ammonia, which I never seem to have when I need it...where I ran into my darling Katie girl and had to catch up with her and hug her and tell her how excited I am that she may be moving back east for a while--change of scenery, boys, and singles wards, etc.  I ran back, mixed up the soution and got to work.

One part ammonia and one part hot water in a sprayer.  Spray to saturate the affected area.  Cover with a white dish cloth and, using a steam iron, iron over the area.  Repeat as necessary.  Replace white towel and repeat as necessary.  It took me four towels.

Eureka!  It works!

You can't even tell where I spilled.  I dare you to come try to find it.  Really.  This worked that good!

'Nuff Said

I promise I'll be back tomorrow.  For real.  Promise.

Time Keeps On Slippin'...Into the Future

I came downstairs yesterday after trying to nap (while Genius Golfer watched a golf tournament and kept talking to the TV golf announcers--oh well for that idea) and found The Boy watching a Back To The Future marathon.  He was halfway through the second movie.

I sat down to watch with him.

First, I don't remember the language being that rough when I saw it before.  That may be a recognition when you watch it with your kids kind of thing.  Secondly, I forgot how much I enjoy Marty McFly and Doc Brown together.  And thirdly, what a crazy, imaginative, Inception-like layered story!!  I watched the rest of the trilogy with him.

The whole afternoon made me think, I wonder what films my own kids will be watching in 25 years with their kids on a Sunday afternoon.  Maybe they will be watching the movies we love to watch together now--The Princess Bride, A Christmas Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Back to the Future.  I hope so.  They are classic for a reason.

Video Sunday

http://www.youtube.com/embed/gosY-UrpHcA

Another reason to keep your kids in music lessons.  Mine aren't interested anymore....but I loved this.