OC - I can see that point, but we are thinking about just Football and Basketball. You mean to tell me the Powhatan's field hockey team wants to travel to Charlottesville for a Tuesday afternoon game? Hard to believe. I agree that it makes more sense in football, but Powhatan will probably move to 5A soon with the rapid expansion of western Chesterfield and eastern Powhatan. Even if they are at the bottom of the Dominion at first it won't be long until they are competitive. Midlo is like 10 minutes down the road so travel will be way better for them. It does make sense that they join the Dominion, I just hate having only 1 OOD game!
Having one OOD is not good for the
Dominion. Would like to see another district in the region created for Richmond city schools and 2 other Division 3 schools. A few schools should also switch districts.
What do people think about these 5 districts that would all have 7 schools who would play each other? The horrific mismatches in football would not be as prevalent as they are now and would have more natural rivalries. Plus it would give teams more freedom to schedule OOD district games that in theory would be more competitive and safer than say
George Wythe v.
LC Bird or Thomas Dale v.
Petersburg.
Teams that would switch districts in Bold:
New District:
John Marshall, Teejay, George Wythe, Huguenot, Armstrong, Petersburg, Colonial Heights.
The 5 city schools should play each other every year in football. The kids and parents I have talked with over the years at these schools all want to play each other and most think that it would really help the attendance at their games.
Petersburg and
Colonial Heights would get a chance to compete with schools with similar enrollments. Petersburg and C Heights would have the worst travel but are just a 25-40 minute trip up 95 from the Richmond city schools.
Dominion:
Manchester, Clover Hill, Cosby, Midlothian, Powhatan, Monacan and James River.
I get that
Wythe depends on the gate money from the Dominion District schools to help fund their athletic program, but
Wythe is 2-142 overall since 2003.
Wythe has not won a Dominion District game since 2003.
No community should have to endure that type of suffering for any reason.
Wythe plays two home games this year, but do not think they have played a Dominion District team (besides
Huguenot) at home in at least a decade, if not longer.
Central:
Thomas Dale, Dinwiddie, Hopewell, Prince George, Matoaca, Meadowbrook and
LC Bird.
It has been well documented that
Bird wants to stay in Dominion, but they fit the Central District geographically, athletically and in academics.
Capital:
Atlee, Hanover, Patrick Henry, Henrico, Lee-Davis, Highland Springs and Lee-Davis
Colonial:
Deep Run, Glen Allen, Mills Godwin, Hermitage, J.R Tucker, Douglas Freeman and
Goochland.
Goochland is the outlier in the James River District. The were a dominant Division 2 school that jumps to Division 3. This district would drastically shorten the current travel they have in the James River District and also put them in a more competitive football league. If not the Colonial,
Goochland could fit well as a replacement for Powhatan in the
Jefferson district.