Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

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Rescheduled athletic events conflict with SAT testing

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The Las Vegas valley snowstorm that forced the cancellation of several high school sporting events Dec. 15 to 18 has turned into another headache for some coaches and players.

Some schools in the Clark County School District rescheduled their games for Saturday, Jan. 24, one of seven national SAT testing dates during the year.

Many of the games conflict directly with the SAT testing times, which generally run from 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It is up to each school to decide when to schedule makeup games, district Athletic Director Pam Sloan said. "It's up to them to know if the game conflicts with anything," she said.

Because the rescheduled games are all league competitions and could affect the standings, the Clark County School District was reluctant to cancel the games altogether.

There are 20 league games scheduled on Jan. 24. They include a Liberty at Basic girls soccer game at noon and a Liberty at Basic girls basketball game at 12:30 p.m.

Basic Athletic Director Barbara Gillaspy said coaches have not complained about the times being a major conflict, but testing is paramount to high school athletics. "It's absolutely a big deal for those students taking the tests," she said.

Sloan, who oversaw the rescheduling of more than 50 games, said all the games were set for new dates by Jan. 8.

But the final day to sign up for the SAT test without paying a late fee was Dec. 26, meaning players did not know about the conflict before the deadline. Late registration, which costs an extra $22, was offered up to Jan. 9.

"If they signed up for the test in advance it could be a problem," said Liberty boys basketball coach Pat Welby, whose team plays Basic at 2 p.m. on Jan. 24. "Some schools require these things way in advance and this could get in the way of that."

Rescheduling the cancelled games was a challenging task, Sloan said, because games were bound to conflict with pre-scheduled events.

"The storm was a fluke," she said. "I can't remember the last time we had to cancel a game for weather."

Even without cancellations, some schools have difficulty scheduling around SAT test dates. Several games were played on Dec. 6, another SAT test date. None of those games, however, counted toward league records.

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].

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