{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"School Sports Saved -- past position paper turned the tide of massive cuts","description":"In episode #79 of Heavy Or Not, The OG Swim Guide, we break down a prior war with the Pittsburgh school\u2011district\u2019s Superintendent of Schools. She had a proposal to slash $600\u202fK in sports programs and the comprehensive counter\u2011proposal helped keep those programs alive. It wasn\u2019t a victory, but it wasn\u2019t a defeat. Coach Mark walks through the financial, strategic, and community arguments that turned a budget cut into a reform opportunity. The district\u2019s cut list (high\u2011school swimming, tennis, golf; middle\u2011school volleyball, wrestling; all intramurals) and the $600\u202fK savings claim. Highlights from the 45\u2011page \u201cAlternative to Fewer Sports\u201d position paper that challenged the cuts. How the paper reframed athletics as a revenue source\u2014e.g., the PPSH2O citywide aquatics model. The three\u2011step reform plan: community\u2011led task force, an Olympic\u2011sports incubator, and lobbying for flexible state rules. The broader value of sports: scholarship dollars, academic gains, attendance boosts, and community pride. More and more we\u2019re going to focus upon the road-blocks to sports participation. Sadly, the biggest blocks come from those at the top of the organizational chart \u2014 the superintendent of schools, the mayor, the athletic directors, the league administrators.   https:\/\/aforathlete.fandom.com\/wiki\/Fewer_Sports_Alternatives_(position_paper) https:\/\/notebooklm.google.com\/notebook\/8afb93c2-e0db-43be-92af-0c7c45a22211   ","author_name":"Heavy Or Not - The O.G. Swim Guide","author_url":"https:\/\/HON.LAP.red","html":"