Why do we put up with this?

Ok, So I wanted to write today about the results and performances by the Winona Winhawk Swimmers yesterday. But alas, I struggle. While I have individual results thanks to the dedication of one of the swimming parents (Jan Brosnahan), I have little clue what happened in the meet and the Winhawks result as a team.


The Winona Daily News has NO information on the Winhawk swimmers and their results in the Austin Invitational. Sadly, I am used to that scenario and quite often turn to the newspapers in the other Big 9 HS towns for news on our own Winona Winhawks. Not this time though. My best bet is typically the home town team’s paper, in this case the Austin Daily Herald. They are usually pretty good and in this case they had an article but focused, as usual, on the swims of the Austin Swimmers. I did manage to find out that Rochester Century won the Invite and Mankato East was 2nd on their way to letting their readers know that Austin was 8th. The Rochester Post Bulletin is typically a good source having three HS swimming squads in town. It took a little digging to find them, but I did manage to get some highlights, Rochester oriented but at least found out what place Winona came in. The Owatonna People’s Press told me the team order of finish and their team’s swimming highlights. The Northfield News did not have anything on the Austin Invitational, but to their credit they had an excellent article covering the team close win over Red Wing last Thursday, actually writing a story with interviews rather than just highlights and scores. The sad example set by the Winona Daily news was echoed by the Albert Lea Tribune, the Mankato Free Press and, as it appears ignorance doesn’t stop at state lines, the Mason City Globe Gazette. None of these papers, looking on their website, reported one word of the work and effort applied by their high school swimming athletes. Compounding the Winona Daily News’ ineptness is the lack of coverage of the other institution swimming program in town, the St. Mary’s Cardinals. The Cards hosted a Triangular yesterday, so in spite of being held here in Winona, there was no mention of that sporting event in the WDN Sports Section either.

Swimming & Diving parents, it is time to start making some noise to our respective papers about the poor job they are doing covering our children/athletes. The athletes work hard, swimming miles day in and day out, doing dryland weights and stretching. Strength and endurance wise they are as fit any athlete in the school. They spend hours learning and then perfecting their stroke and dive techniques, no different than any other athlete, be they basketball players or hockey players.

It is time to start making some noise. It is time to start speaking out. It is time to start providing some customer feedback. Or, as in my case, some non-customer feedback. I informed the WDN a long time ago that my subscription was cancelled, for among other reasons, marginal to NO coverage of competitive swimming.

Let's get with it, let's speak out, let's GET SOME RESPECT.