BY MARCUS HENRY
I haven't talked to any officials regarding the viability of the state girl's soccer championships coming down state on a rotating basis, but I can think of two reasons why they love Cortland.
First: It is in a central location. Cortland is a four to five-hour drive from Long Island and about four to five hours from the furthest points north and west in the state. You can't get more central than that. This is assuming you are not leaving in the middle of evening or morning rush.
Having it in Long Island would make for a ridiculously long commute for schools in sections 5, 6, 7, 10 and schools in the northern part of section 3 and the western end of section 4. We're talking 7 to 8 hours of driving in most cases.
Two years ago I covered the Track and Field Federation championships at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY in section 10. It took me nearly 8 hours to get there.
Second: SUNY Cortland has great facilities, including a unique set up with its soccer and football fields right next to each other with a press box in between. The press box is double sided. So writers covering the games can actually view and keep track of two games at the same time. There is a hotel (the Counrty Inn) right across the street from the school and several others (Ramada Inn, Hampton Inn, Econo Lodge etc...) one exit away on Interstate 81. That's a 10-minute drive.
The other two sites where games are played - Homer High School and Tomkins CC - are a five and 10-minute drive from SUNY Cortland.
Cortland is the ideal place for state championships. The girl's state soccer championships will be there again next season.
Comments (2)
ok i give it to you that its "central" but the thing is havent they realized and saw that the weather isnt exactly the greatest there. and its not exactly that easy when your down on the island and want to be able to see it. i dont think that they should have it exactly on the island but maybe they can have it a little bit closer. the absolute right thing to do is to have it rotate around the state because its not right if its always in one place.
Response to XSX
Although it would be nice to have them a little closer, state administrators will probably tell you their job is to try and make it easier on everyone, not just one section. The weather was bad, but it was bad for every team.
Marcus Henry
yeh i agree the weather was bad for everyone but if they played in a weather condision where it wouldnt effect it as much would be a lot better. if there gunna keep it up in that area, what they should do is have the games be played in Syer. in there dome, bammm right there you solved one of the problems and the other, well it'll always be there.