While Boone offers a variety of sports, some may be surprised to learn that certain options are currently unavailable, including boys volleyball, lacrosse, bass fishing, competitive weightlifting, gymnastics, and ice hockey.
Boys volleyball interested many; athletic director Lance Melching stated a club was started this year which can lead to a future boys volleyball team.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association boys volleyball alignment showed only five schools in northern Kentucky as participants: Calvary, Dayton, Ryle, Scott, and Walton Verona.
Although this does not include Boone, if interest continues to spread and the volleyball group numbers increase, Melching indicated that boys volleyball will likely be the next sport added to the school.
Another sport that is played locally is lacrosse. Girls lacrosse is played at Cooper, Dixie Heights, Notre Dame and Ryle High School. Boys Lacrosse is played at Cooper, Dixie Heights, Ryle and St. Henry District High School.
The difference between boys volleyball and lacrosse is the interest levels.
The schools Gender Equity Committee considered adding lacrosse in 2022. Though 17 students expressed interest, only two went to a 7 p.m. interest meeting hosted that year.
Another challenge in adding team sports like lacrosse is that a minimum number of players are required, whereas sports like bowling, archery, esports, and chess can be played individually if a school cannot field a full team.
“If there was sufficient interest, the school would find a way to make it happen,” Melching said.
Athletic Director
At this same 2022 meeting, bass fishing was considered for addition. Although there were small numbers of students interested, the major concerns were the costs of getting boats and traveling to tournaments that are three or more hours away.
The Gender Equity Committee minutes mentions they did not think it was a priority at the time because of distance to tournaments, limited interest, and lack of district level support.
After everything was accounted for, the minutes show that the committee decided to not take the next steps to add this sport.
Another factor that makes adding sports difficult is that the Kentucky High School Athletic Association will not sponsor certain athletic teams if participation numbers are low. Further, the KHSAA needs a sufficient number of schools participating in a sport to create a viable and competitive league structure.
“The KHSAA shall survey its membership every three (3) years to measure desire for a new offering or elimination of an existing offering,” the KHSAA Board of Control Adopted Policies read.
While some students are interested in gymnastics and ice hockey, Melching mentioned that there is not enough interest statewide to support making these official KHSAA sports.
While there are private gymnastic gyms and ice rinks locally, Melching said that at this time, these sports could become a club but not yet any farther.
Next year, there will be another KHSAA survey, offering a chance to explore new sports and interests. The Gender Equity Committee will then look over the results to explore adding new sports.
