by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Blue Dragon Foundation, which oversees the use of the baseball field and scheduling, has had its hands tied with regards to the summer baseball season. Baseball is a popular sport in Garretson, and the lack of ability for teams to practice and play during the coronavirus pandemic has remained contentious, especially as other teams in the area have set up schedules and games. The Garretson School District owns the property that the field is located on, which means that baseball has been halted so far this summer. The school is required to follow South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) rules regarding sports fields, weight rooms, gyms, and other school-funded activities, which has been limiting what can be done in each area. The earliest the field can open due to these rules is currently July 9th, and is subject to change upon an increase in case numbers in Minnehaha County. The school district has been exploring ways to re-open the baseball field sooner, which has been closed since mid-March.
At the Garretson School Board meeting last week Monday, June 8, Superintendent Guy Johnson proposed selling the field to the City of Garretson, and the school board was amenable to the suggestion. They listed cost savings on maintenance and insurance as a pro to that option, and gave their consent for Supt. Johnson to move ahead with exploring that option. The next evening, June 9, the Garretson City Council held a special meeting to canvass the votes from the election that had taken place on June 2, and Supt. Johnson proposed his idea to the council at that time. If the ball field was owned by the City, SDHSAA guidelines would not apply.
The council was very supportive of the idea, but wanted to ensure that if they moved forward with the option, that the Blue Dragon Foundation would remain in charge of all operations, maintenance, and scheduling. Blue Dragon Foundation board member and coach Cody Linneweber assured the council that the Foundation would be able to do that.
At this time, no final votes have been taken by either the school board or the council, but both entities are moving ahead with their respective lawyers to ensure this can occur as soon as possible. However, once moving forward, it may still take 30-60 days for the sale to be finalized.
This means this season is on hiatus until SDHSAA regulations allow the field to re-open on July 9, but future seasons would be treated similarly to the JC Complex, which was re-opened in May. Baseball teams are unable to play on the JC Complex softball fields due to size differences and the lack of a mound, though a few practices have been taking place there. Pitching practice between the pitchers only and the coach have just recently been allowed, but are hindered by gathering and sanitation requirements. Since pitchers have not been able to get the practice sessions needed to ensure injury won’t occur, coaches have been hesitant to allow their players to play too many games.
Until the fields are re-opened, expect youth baseball to stay on hiatus in Garretson.
The amateur baseball team, the Garretson Blue Jays, can be found playing its schedule at away games. Their schedule can be found at http://www.ballcharts.com/team/?team=GarretsonBluejays. They are playing in Larchwood tonight (Thursday 6/18) and in Elk Point for a double header on Sunday.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting will be airing a live panel with directors of sports organizations about re-opening tonight (Thursday) at 8:00 p.m. on South Dakota FOCUS, which can be found on SDPB1 and SDPB.org. The panel will include Dr. Dan Swartos, Executive Director, SD High School Activities Association and Danny Frisby-Griffin – Chairman, SD VFW Baseball.
