GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Many schools are already on winter break, so the upcoming winter storm everyone is talking about might not have a huge impact on the everyday schedules of most high school kids. But for athletes and their parents, this can be a busy time of year.
Cornerstone University is one of the hottest places to be to watch sports when the weather is cold. This time every year they host their High School Holiday Tournament, and 18 boys and girls teams were scheduled to play on Thursday and Friday alone.
With so many participants and nearly 200 volunteers, organizing the holiday tournament can be a real challenge even when weather does cooperate. That's why 13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to Cornerstone specifically to find out how this affects them.
"We're kind of used to it, to be honest. This is year 25, and it's December. It's Michigan. You're going to get something," said athletic director Aaron Sagraves.
"What you try to do is communicate as much as you can, with the schools that are participating on those specific days. They may have those decisions made for them where if there's a warning, or if there's a travel advisory or something like that, where we need to make sure we move those games."
Sagraves was quick to credit associate athletic director Peter Bryant, who has had this storm on his radar for more than a week. He's been able to communicate with participating schools and also off-campus host sites like Forest Hills Public Schools and NorthPointe Christian to find solutions.
At the time this story was published, many of the Thursday games had been moved to earlier in the day so that competition could be over by mid-afternoon. That will hopefully help schools avoid the worst of the storm. Cornerstone is posting updates on the schedule to its website and social media pages.
The Grand Rapids Griffins are also in a tough spot. They're scheduled to play a road game in Chicago Thursday night and then take a bus to Grand Rapids for a Friday night game at Van Andel Arena.
Randy Cleves, the senior director of public and community relations says the team is in communication with both of their opponents for Thursday and Friday, as well as the American Hockey League.
According to the team's website, all games are "rain or shine" and only extreme inclement weather would cancel or postpone a game. However, if a decision is made to postpone or cancel a game, the team will post information about how that will affect fans who already have tickets.
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