by Rachel Allenick, Group Director
State Associations
It’s crazy to
think that the fall and winter championships have come and gone and the spring
championships are right around the corner. I was lucky enough to attend a
number of different state association events and this past fall I added one
more to the list, the CIF State
Football Championship Bowl Games, presented by Farmers Insurance. The
Championship Bowl Games were held on December 14th and 15th
at the Home Depot Center (HDC) in Carson, California.
It’s always fun
to attend events in various states to see how differently things can be done.
Some of you may not know that the HDC is actually home to the LA Galaxy (a
professional soccer team). With that being the case, temporary turf was brought
in to replace the natural grass field used for soccer games. The turf was laid
down and all necessary lines were spray painted on, along with the CIF logo on
the field and the Farmers Insurance Group logo in the end zones. Not only was
turf brought in for the weekend, but so were LED boards to display sponsor
graphics during the championship games. Sponsorships at the high school level
have continued to grow and it’s important to showcase these brands throughout
the events. The CIF did just that as there were four different boards each
stretching from the end zone to the 30 yard line in all four corners of the
field. The boards rotated sponsor logos throughout the entire weekend. This
made for some great photo opportunities and really got the individual sponsor
names out there to the fans in attendance and those watching on TV.
I was also
fortunate enough to attend the state championships in Ohio, where the OHSAA always
puts on great events. The OHSAA hosted the six championships at two different
stadiums in two days at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon and Fawcett
Stadium in Canton (home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame). Fall 2014 the
association will be adding a seventh division and spreading the championships
out to three days. Some people might think it makes things easier having two
different stadiums, but you actually have to have twice as many workers and
volunteers to cover the concession stands, ticket gates, press boxes, etc. There are members of the host committee that
go from stadium to stadium for each game; while one stadium is finishing up a
game for one division the other stadium is starting another game for a
different division.
No matter how
different each state might be when it comes to putting on its football
championships or any championship event for that matter, each association has
one goal in common: to give the participating schools and fans the best
experience possible. I hope my luck continues and I get the chance to attend
many more events in other states to see how their tournaments are run.
