Carmel refuses to play at PCS gym

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Andrew Matheson

Coaches of the Carmel High boys and girls basketball teams, concerned for the safety of their players, refused to play in games at the Pacific Collegiate School gymnasium in Santa Cruz on Friday night.

The games were instead postponed after coaches cited concerns with the lighting, the lack of space in between the benches and the sidelines, and the nature of the floor, including its uneveness and hardness, among other issues.

The Salinas Californian’s George Watkins had additional details here.

It might be much ado about nothing, though, as Mission Trail Athletic League Commissioner Tim McCarthy visited the gymnasium on Tuesday morning and deemed the gym playable. He said that school officials were very cooperative and that “while it’s not an ideal gym,” there weren’t any rule infractions where PCS wouldn’t be allowed to use it as its home court.

If they didn’t have a conforming gym, PCS might have had to either find another home site or travel for its remainding home games.

McCarthy did say the league’s Board of Managers will meet Wednesday, however, and PCS’ gym is an agenda item. So stay tuned. This was the first complaint regarding the PCS gym, although McCarthy said questions had been raised subsequently by another school.

I’ve been to the PCS gym, and I can second McCarthy’s sentiment — it’s not an ideal gymnasium, by any means. But I also know that it’s hosted many, many games, including a CCS playoff game last season.

If the gym is so unplayable, why hadn’t this issue been raised earlier?

By the way, the Pumas have four home games remaining, not including its game with Carmel (it hasn’t been rescheduled yet), beginning with Santa Catalina on Wednesday night.

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About Andrew Matheson

Andrew Matheson covers sports for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. E-mail him at amatheson@santacruzsentinel.com, or follow him on Twitter at @amatheson_sc.
This entry was posted in Basketball, Pacific Collegiate and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.
  • J W Davis

    Thank you, prop 13

  • yourekidding

    It must be okay since other people have done it before. Gimme a break, that is a horrible thinking process. Safety of the athletes should come first. nn

  • news?

    “If the gym is so unplayable, why hadnu2019t this issue been raised earlier?”nnIf you are a reporter, how about asking some of the coaches that have played there before?

  • Munge

    Carmel are just rich wussies who want to play on gold-plated floors and have their bottoms powdered by their fluffer after every game, this is PCS! Uhn! It’s true ghetto b-ball g! peace!

  • 831Guest

    According to the 2012-13 NFHS(National Federation of State High School Associations):nnRule 2: Section 2(Officals’ Jurisdiction). Article 2:n”The official’ jurisdiction, prior to the game, begins when they arrive on the floor. The officials’ arrival on the floor shall be at least 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time of the game.”nRule 2: Section 2. Article 4n”The jurisdiction of the officials is terminated and the final score has been approved when all officials leave the visual confines of the playing area.n”NOTE: The officials retain clerical authority over the contest through the completion of any reports, including those imposing disqualifications, which are responsive to actions occurring while the officials had jurisdiction. State associations may intercede in the event of unusual incidents that occur before, during, or after the officials’ jurisdiction has ended or in the event that a contest is terminated prior to the conclusion of regulation play.”nnRule 2: Section 3(Referee’s Authority):nTHE REFEREE SHALL MAKE DECISIONS ON ANY POINTS NOT SPECIFICALLY COVERED IN THE RULES.”nnRule 2: Section 4(Referee’s Pregame DUTIES). Article 1:nTHE REFEREE SHALL INSPECT AND APPROVE ALL EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING COURT, BASKETS, BALL, BACKBOARDS, AND SCORERS AND TIMERS SIGNALS”nnRule 1: Section 17(“X” Locates Scorer):n” An ‘X’ 12 inches long and 2 inches wide shall be placed on the floor out of bounds directly in front of the official scorer to help substitutes with the proper location”nnRule 1: Section 2(Sidelines, End Lines). Article 1:n”The playing court shall be marked with sidelines, endlines and other lines as shown in Figure 1-1. THERE SHALL BE AT LEAST 3 FEET(and preferably 10 feet) of UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES.nArticle 2. “If, on an unofficial court, there is less than 3 FEET OF UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE OUTSIDE ANY SIDELINE OR END LINE, a narrow broken line shall be marked ON THE COURT PARALLEL WITH AND 3 FEET INSIDE THAT BOUNDARY. This restraining line becomes the boundary line during a throw-in on that side or end, as in Fig. 7-6. It continues to be the boundary until the ball crosses that line”.nnTable 1-1(Supplement to Basketball Court):n7. “The court shall be uniformly and adequately lighted”.nnMaybe you should take another look at the court…with a rule-book in hand. Better yet, McCarthy could take a fire marshall with him as well because I’m most certain that the property would not pass an inspection since most doors and emergency exits are blocked and obstructed by miscellaneous equipment and furniture. I’d like to reiterate that safety is the question and if it’s not “ideal” how does that make the property “safe”? McCarthy’s has now subjected himself and MTAL/CCS for all liability.

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