Bishop working to get volleyball MSSPA sanction

HARRINGTON – Jeanne Bishop, principal of Narraguagus High School here, has a mission.

That mission is to have volleyball sanctioned as an interscholastic sport by the Maine Secondary School Principals’ Association.

To that end, she’s promoting volleyball as hard as she can, and will soon be asking the MSSPA Executive Committee to bring the issue to an association vote.

Bishop fully recognizes this is not the best of times to ask for approval of an additional sport. But, she believes, you can’t let up. You have to keep the issue alive to get it resolved.

“Volleyball is not an expensive sport to run,” she said, “and it’s a moneymaker. The Downeast Athletic Conference cleared $1,000 in its tournament. The expenses are very limited, and most schools already have the equipment for their physical education programs.”

Bishop wants those weighing the pros and cons of sanctioning volleyball not to look at it in relationship to the present sorry state of the economy, but to look at what it would do for the kids.

Her choice would be to have volleyball a fall sport, when the gymnasiums are not in use. “It would give the kids choices in the fall,” she said. “It’s a lifetime sport. From here, our players go on to compete at the college level and, nationwide, it is very popular.”

Those opposed to the idea, and there are some even in Washington County, Bishop said, would like to see soccer offered as a fall sport for girls. One point in volleyball’s favor is that it is played inside and is not dependent on the weather.

Another reason Bishop would like an MSSPA sanction is for the young women playing the sport to receive recognition on the state level as do those competing in other MSSPA-sanctioned sports.

She also believes volleyball attracts athletes of particular talents. “Volleyball is a fitness sport,” she said. “It’s not one which seems to require, for example, running endurance which is outweighed more by an individual’s competitive skills and court presence.”

Other fall sports, she indicated, have certain limitations such as the number of fields available, bad weather, and officials to call upon. “Sometimes,” she said, “you can get by with just one volleyball official.”

And volleyball, she said, is a great spectator sport. “It has served the Washington County area well, thanks to the efforts of Fran Robinson (of the University of Maine-Machias) who introduced the sport here. People are really enjoying it, especially at the level it has reached. The skills have improved to the point where the ball is in the air much more than ever, and that’s exciting.”