This is a LONG stretch for the guys on the NBC North Dakota TV crew. The Bismarck folks start off with bowling in February, then members of the team from over the state make treks to Grand Forks, Fargo, and Minot for state hockey and the three basketball weekends. That’s a lot of nights in hotel rooms, a lot of long work days, a lot of miles traveled, a lot of cables coiled. Oh, and a lot of Applebee’s every night. I was on a different crew this weekend, which means no free food for me. Darn.
The TV crew isn’t the group most inconvenienced by this, though. Back when the switch was made, in order to avoid a lawsuit from parents of volleyball girls if I remember correctly, it put a crunch on the smaller schools. Girls’ coaches would referee boys’ games and vice versa, because their seasons were not simultaneous. All of a sudden they were playing at the same time, putting a strain on the system. That also made gymnasium space harder to come by in some places as well. All to make a few kids and their parents happy. North Dakota had watched South Dakota fight a similar lawsuit until its resources dwindled and it finally settled. Now we have two Class B tournaments and the Super A each spring.