The Thunder Mountain High School football players will be resting a little easier tonight.
They won’t be playing for their cross-town rival Juneau-Douglas High School next year, but a new team with a new name without the specific designation of either TMHS or JDHS.
Juneau School District Director of Student Services Bridget Weiss wrote in an email Thursday that a new policy from the Alaska School Activities Association that allows the move.
ASAA granted consolidated sports and activities to “operate as a district” instead of one of the two member schools that merged.
“This again is not the same information we had previously,” Weiss wrote in the email. “Thus our work in previous consolidations, when wrestling has been housed at TMHS, tennis at JDHS, and (Drama/Debate/Forensics) at TMHS required those students to compete under the member school name and colors.”
Weiss said both the JDHS and TMHS football program’s outstanding debt will still need to be paid off by the respective programs.
The district will appoint a group of students, players, coaches and others to identify the new mascot, colors and team name for the football and any other future consolidated teams.
Weiss said membership and meeting dates will be decided in the coming weeks for the group.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the JDHS and TMHS football program’s outstanding debt will be pooled into one account. The JDHS and TMHS debt will remain in their established accounts. A new account, however, will be created for the consolidated team. The article has been updated to reflect the change.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
