By Ryan Duey

Washington County USD 108 will allow sixth-grade students to join junior high sports teams if there are insufficient team numbers, starting next school year. This decision progressed at last week’s Board of Education meeting, where the board agreed to let the administration draft a policy to be added to the handbook for next month’s approval.

Athletic director Bobby Smith noted that without sixth graders, there might not be enough junior high girls to form a volleyball team this fall. He does not anticipate needing sixth-grade boys for junior high sports in the near future.

The seventh and eighth-grade volleyball team could have only 7 or 8 players this fall. To ensure adequate team sizes, Smith proposed a “safeguard,” allowing sixth-grade girls to play junior high sports due to low participation, while sixth-grade boys are unlikely to participate next year.