The faculty voted this week to grant an exemption from sports to students in their Upper or Senior years who wish to pursue a supervised, approved activity. This term off from sports is in addition to the Slide option for Uppers and Seniors. Over the past few weeks, the faculty voted on three new athletic proposals: a name change of the current athletic requirement, the installment of Flexible Fitness Options (FFO) and several Slide variations. During their first vote, the faculty approved the new name of an “exercise and sport” requirement over the former “athletic” requirement. Athletic Council member Keith Robinson said, “The new name better encapsulates what we are really trying to do, which is at minimum to just get out and exercise. In some cases, that exercise is a sport. But some people feel that ‘athletics’ has the ring of ‘interscholastic sports.’” According to Robinson, as the Athletic Department has grown to include such activities as yoga and dance, the name “athletic” requirement was no longer sufficient. Athletic Director Mike Kuta said, “Students don’t necessarily have to be athletes; we’re just trying to supplement their day with physical activities and lifetime wellness skills.” The faculty also approved the new FFOs, which provide students more ways to fulfill the exercise and sport requirement. Specifically, FFO’s focus on expanding exercise options outside of the 3 – 5 p.m. time slot. These FFO’s will be held during the academic day, allowing a student to fulfill the requirement during a free period. Robinson said, “One of our goals was to create flexibility so students who had other interests could find time to do them. The major idea was that if we could expand on what we already offer like Morning Basics and seventh period FIT, then students could partake in other things more often and more easily.” Kuta described possible FFO’s such as spinning classes, Pilates, yoga, double-dutch, hiking and snowshoeing. A competitive game option will allow students to participate in sports such as dodgeball, floor hockey, kickball and Ultimate frisbee, among others. The Fitness Center will also be supervised and open all day. Students will partake in exercise groups or one-on-one training with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. These specialists include Chris Collins, Mika Kuta and a new teaching fellow, who will also serve as an athletic trainer during the afternoon. This past week, faculty voted on the third component of different SLIDE variations. SLIDE is an exemption from the athletic requirement for one term. The preferential voting system called for faculty to list the different variations in their favored order. The results have not yet been released. There were five different SLIDE options for the faculty to consider. The first possibility was to eliminate SLIDE altogether, thereby requiring students to participate in a formal exercise every term. Athletic Council member Scott Hoenig said, “I imagine there would be students that were disappointed if there was no athletic exemption option. However, I also hope that students would see that faculty really cares about the kids and just wants them to be happy, healthy and able to do the best they can in athletics, academics and all their clubs.” The second option is to maintain the status quo, keeping the current athletic requirement of participating in some kind of exercise for at least 45 minutes, four days a week. Exercise options currently include interscholastic athletics, intramural cluster teams, recreational and instructional sports, dance, functional training (FIT), Morning Basics and Search and Rescue. Uppers and Seniors may opt out of sports for one term with the SLIDE alternative. For the third option, students can either SLIDE or apply for a new exemption option, which has the working name of ‘Supervised and Approved Activity.’ This Approved Activity will allow students to be excused from an athletic commitment for a term in order to pursue a different passion. This exemption option will also include some kind of informal fitness component. Robinson said, “In applying for one of these exemptions, you would be required to submit an application. One of the requirements would be to come up with a plan on how to have fitness in your schedule. The expectation is that you would be working out in some capacity on your own.” Once a student has written a Supervised and Approved Activity proposal, it will be assessed by a committee of his or her academic advisor, house counselor, a faculty supervisor, Dean of Studies John Rogers and Athletic Director Michael Kuta. Faculty considered a fourth option of eliminating SLIDE, but instead allowing one term for an Approved Activity during a student’s Upper or Senior year. Similarly, the fifth possibility eliminates SLIDE, but offers an Approved Activity for both Upper year and Senior year. The Athletic Council proposed these three components of the ‘exercise and sport’ requirement name, the Flexible Fitness Options and the Supervised and Approved Activities in accordance with Andover’s 2004 Strategic Plan. Kuta expressed his satisfaction with the Athletic Council’s proposals. He said, “We’ve succeeded in meeting the goals of the Strategic Plan in regard to offering flexibility to kids’ schedules, while at the same time staying true to our goal of regular exercise.”
