It’s one step forward and two steps back for the 12th Region All “A” Classic, which begins Monday night for both the boys and girls.
The good news is that the boys and girls tournaments have been combined and will be played over three nights this week (Monday, Tuesday and Friday) as a series of boys-girls doubleheaders. That much makes sense.
But it gets screwy when you try to figure out where the championship games might be played. The tournaments — at least the first two nights of them — are scheduled to be played at Monticello, but the host school loses the title games if both its boys and girls teams lose in the semifinals.
In this year’s case, Somerset has the chance to take the title games away from Monticello, and the Briar Jumpers can do just that if their boys and girls win Tuesday. That’s a strange setup, but it’s at least a little bit logical.
What isn’t logical at all is that while Somerset’s teams have a chance to play at home, the Burgin and Danville boys and girls must drive all the way to Monticello to play their doubleheader Monday night.
And they surely won’t have as many fans following them as would be in attendance if the games were played in one of their buildings, which means less enthusiasm about the games — and of course less money in the tournament kitty.
The host could have been decided with a simple coin toss, and the team that lost that flip surely would still have been happier about traveling 8 miles rather than 75.
In any case, here’s this week’s All “A” schedule (the winners advance to the statewide All “A” Classic Jan. 30-Feb. 3 in Richmond):
BOYS
Monday at Monticello: Burgin vs. Danville, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday at Monticello: Somerset vs. Monticello, 6:30 p.m.
Friday at Monticello or Somerset: Championship, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS
Monday at Monticello: Burgin vs. Danville, 8 p.m.
Tuesday at Monticello: Somerset vs. Monticello, 8 p.m.
Friday at Monticello or Somerset: Championship, 8 p.m.
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