The Yorkton Regional High School (YRHS) Raider Gridders announced their withdrawal from the Regina Intercollegiate Football League (RIFL) in order to join the Moose Jaw Football League (MJFL) at a press conference this week.
Raider Gridder head coach Roby Sharpe says Weyburn and Yorkton will become the newest members of the MJFL which will have seven teams this fall. The newly expanded league will have Yorkton, Estevan, Weyburn, Swift Current and three teams from Moose Jaw.
Lest anyone suggests the new league will be a downward step, Sharpe points out that of the last 15 provincial champion teams, seven came from the Moose Jaw League.
There were several reasons for the change. Sharpe says his biggest concern was the playoff structure in Regina. All the playoffs were played in Regina which he felt was unfair. If the Raiders finished second and a Regina team finished fifth, Yorkton had to get on the bus and play in Regina. "That's been like a burr under my saddle for 12 years. We've had some pretty good teams and we've earned some home playoff spots but we've never been able to play at home," he explains. He also doesn't see it as fair.
Pleading the YRHS case and asking for a better deal seemed to fall on deaf ears. It was their league and they said it's going to be this way or you don't have to be here. "It finally came to a point where we said we have to move on then."
The change affects only the Senior Raiders. The Junior Raiders, who play in the Regina Minor Football League (RMF), will continue to play in the bantam division, Sharpe notes. It's a completely different situation which is still a good fit for our juniors, he adds.
Perhaps not totally tongue in cheek, Sharpe predicts he'll bring home at least one title in the next two years.
YRHS principal Mike Haczkewicz says the biggest impact of the league change is the major cost savings for the school. "The RIFL kind of had us over a barrel the last number of years," Hacz-kwecz suggests. YRHS, because of its size wanted to play 12 man football. The school needed to find a league that would accept their team. "They said sure come and play football with us but it's going to come with a cost," he recalls. YHRS had to pay their transportation costs. "Every time we hosted a home game here we paid for their team to travel to Yorkton. Every time one of those busses leaves Regina or vice versa, it cost us $1,000," Haczkewicz points out.
Plus the YRHS was required to pay for officials both at home and in Regina. After paying for what appeared to be almost everything, not being able to host a home playoff game rankled. At the end of the day the cost saving is probably the biggest factor in the change because Yorkton won't be subsidizing any of the other teams in the Moose Jaw League, Haczkewicz states.
YRHS athletic director Darren Wandy is also happy with the change. He sees a positive spin-off with the cost savings for the school's other athletic programs. "Football's not the only program at our school," he opens. As a 5A school, the boys' and girls' volleyball and basketball teams have to travel to other 5A schools too, Wandy notes. To be able to save half of its programming budget and spread the savings around to other programs as was accomplished by linking with the MJFL is a big deal, he suggests. The change balanced things out for other students in other programs more efficiently, Wandy states.
Being in a new league will give the school and team a new feeling and a new atmosphere. As a result things might work out for the best, Wandy closes.
