Morgan horses, apple pie, red clover, milk and Walleye Pike all have one thing in common—they are the official Vermont state animal, pie, flower, beverage and warm water fish, respectively.
A class of sixth grade students at Swanton Central School in Swanton, Vt. is lobbying the Vermont legislature to add snowboarding as state sport to the list. The legislature is expected to make a decision later this week, he says.
Pick a sport, any sport
Greg Carpenter, physical education teacher of Swanton Central School, was researching Vermont state symbols for a game called “state symbol tag,” he says. The game is a variation on an activity he picked up from a conference in New Hampshire, as a way to tie in geography and civics with physical fitness, so students must answer questions about the state bird, tree, animal and other symbols, he says.
“I thought, 'hey, Vermont needs a state sport,'” he says.
 |
Kirsten Belrose's sixth-grade class that crafted the bill. (Photo courtesy of Kirsten Belrose) |
Carpenter approached fifth and sixth grade teacher Kirsten Belrose with the idea of incorporating fitness and civics into a large-scale project, he says.
The students took to the challenge with great enthusiasm, Belrose says.
Myriam Bouti, 11, is one of the students involved in the project.
The first step of the process was to list several sports and compare them with the criteria required of a state symbol, Bouti says.
In order for a sport to become an official symbol of Vermont, it has to be nationally and internationally known, unique to the state, historically tied to the state and recognizably important to the state, she says.
“We looked at every sport you can possibly think of,” Belrose says.
Biking, snowshoeing, figure skating, snowboarding, skiing and fishing were considered, but one of the biggest challenges was having the students make a choice not based on personal preference, she says.
It was decided that snowboarding best fit the criteria for becoming the Vermont state sport, Bouti says.
“There's a lot of recognition for Vermont in snowboarding, both nationally and internationally,” Belrose says.
Vermont is the birthplace of snowboarding, Carpenter says.
Jake Burton revolutionized the sport and the Burton Snowboard Company is now the number one provider of snowboards and equipment in the world, Carpenter says.
“We have a lot of firsts in the development of snowboarding,” he says. “The biggest snowboarding events happen in Vermont. No other state can claim that.”
Some of these events include the U.S. Open for Snowboarding, the Grand Prix and the first snowboard park.
There’s currently a bill in Colorado trying to make both skiing and snowboarding the official state sports, Carpenter says.
“Colorado wants to choose snowboarding, but nobody's going to touch what we have here,” he says.
The best snowboarders in the world are coming from Vermont, he says.
“This is the hot bed for snowboarding,” he adds.
Meeting the Senate
Students met with Sen. Donald “Don” Collins to learn about the legal process of making a bill into a law, Bouti says.
“I told them I was going to treat them like adults,” Collins says.
 |
Luke Haddock snowboards at Bolton Valley, Vt. |
He coached them in presenting facts that supported their beliefs in a concise manner and set them up with a phone conference to draft the bill, he says.
The students went to the Senate chamber in Montpelier to testify to the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 19, Belrose says.
“I don't think people realized how prepared [the students would] be,” she says.
Belrose worked with the students for over a year before the testimony. They practiced public speaking, conducted extensive research and worked on persuasive writing, she says.
There are two main focuses of the students' position, Collins says. First is the emphasis on promoting sports for the purpose of health and fitness, and the other is the economic impact snowboarding would have as the state sport, he says.
“They promoted a lot of economic development, activity and being healthy,” he says.
Representatives from Burton Snowboard Company and local Vermont ski resorts attended the testimony when the students delivered their written reports, Bouti says.
The students showed a lot of courage in their presentation, Collins says.
“I don't think they realize not every fifth and sixth grade in Vermont can draft a bill and come in to testify,” he says.
Competition keeps it still just a bill
However, the bill has faced some opposition, Belrose says.
A ski resort representative wants to amend the bill to include skiing becoming the second state sport, Bouti says.
Carpenter argues that while skiing has some history in Vermont, the state sport category is not plural, he says. They have proposed the possibility of making skiing the Vermont state recreational team sport, as Massachusetts did, when deciding between basketball and volleyball, he says.
 |
Sixth-grader Alex Benckert reads the bill at the Senate chamber in Montpelier, Vt. on Feb. 19. (Photo courtesy of Kirsten Belrose) |
“I think that we should keep it snowboarding, but if we have to combine it with skiing it's okay,” he says. “If they really like it, we should keep it snowboarding.
The students learned a very valuable lesson in citizenship and getting involved with change, Belrose says.
“They have had an experience many adults never had,” Collins says.
Going through the process has given the students a strong sense of pride and team accomplishment, Belrose says.
“I think it has a good chance of making it through,” Collins says.