Community pays for first round of District 1 sports

Yuma Elementary School District 1's first round of its athletic program has kicked into gear and volunteer organizers say their efforts have paid off.
 
Tami Harmon, member of District 1's parent advisory council, said the group has been working its "tails off in an attempt to get this thing rolling." The group raised $22,000 to help fund a sports program that was in jeopardy because of state budget cuts.
 
"Every school in the district has their softball and wrestling program. We'll get through this without any problem. It was very moving to see the kids out on the softball field that first day. There were parents and students everywhere," Harmon said.
 
Interscholastic competition got under way during the week of Sept. 21. On Monday, a wrestling match at Castle Dome Middle School took place between that school and Fourth Avenue Junior High School. Castle Dome Principal Ed Richardson, who also coaches the team, said his grapplers still had a learning curve but were having fun.
 
"We're grateful District 1 sports has remained viable. And we're eager to see it continue but we need to get that funding to have a quality athletic program where kids can learn skills to be successful and do it in a safe environment."
 
Doug TerHark, another member of the parent advisory council, was substituting as referee in the wrestling meet, which was won by host Castle Dome by a score of 60 to 28 over Fourth Avenue Junior High School. TerHark said everything was about the same as last year except transportation, which parents are responsible for this year.
 
"It seems like every week we're short on refs but that happened last year. It doesn't have anything to do with funding. We now have almost enough to start our next two sports, and then we'll be good to go."
 
A.J. Mosqueda, co-chair of the parent advisory council, said District 1 is struggling to raise the necessary funds to continue with after-school sports, owing to a $165,000 shortfall for the 2009-10 academic year.
 
Meanwhile, the parent advisory council will form a partnership with Triple Play Sports Management to raise additional resources for the next series of sports, boys soccer and girls basketball, which is slated to begin in mid-October, Mosqueda said.
 
The partnership is promoting a professional baseball game between the Naranjeros de Hermosillo vs. the Aguilas de Mexicali. The game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Oct. 7 at Desert Sun Stadium.
 
Tickets are $5 each and bulk sales are available. Triple Play Sports Management will donate 40 percent of all ticket sales to District 1 athletics, Mosqueda said. Tickets are available at Pinnacle Healthcare, 4343 E. 32nd St. (ask for Tami) or at Dahl Robbins and Associates, 1560 S. 5th Ave. (ask for Juan). For further information, people may telephone Mosqueda at 210-5890.
 
She also said she wanted to remind Yumans they can continue to help by taking advantage of the Arizona Tax Credit law, ARS 15-342-24, by giving up to $200 (individual filers) and $400 (married joint filers) to Yuma School District #1-Credit for Kids.
 
The money will be 100 percent levied against the filer's personal state tax liability as a dollar-for-dollar credit. This is a, "truly win-win situation," Mosqueda said.
 
After Monday's wrestling match in which Castle Dome improved its record to 3-3, Richardson said his team had wrestled hard and gained a lot of self-discipline.
 
"That's our aim, learning from the past and being focused."

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William Roller can be reached at wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.