Valley lands Class 5A regional golf tournaments

Slowly but surely the dream is becoming a reality.

Rio Grande Valley athletic directors are expected to announce Wednesday morning that boys and girls Region IV-5A golf will come to deep South Texas during 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Valley athletic directors would not confirm the historic move on the record Saturday.

It has been confirmed that Valley athletic directors will meet Wednesday morning at Hidalgo High School. After the meeting, the Valley ADs are expected to announce that the Region IV-5A golf tournaments for boys and girls will move to the Valley for the next three years.

This will be the first time the Valley has played host to a regional tournament outside of swimming and tennis. The Valley has hosted Class 5A regional swimming meets before in Brownsville and Class 3A regional team tennis tournaments in Harlingen. But bringing the Class 5A golf tourney to the Valley could open the doors to other regional tournaments in other sports in the future.

A Valley contingent comprised of ADs, coaches and business and civic leaders in October made its way to Austin to urge the UIL Legislative Council to put all Region IV tournaments on a rotating basis.

The concern for bringing regional tournaments to the Valley has been around for years. But last September, McAllen school board member Conrado Alvarado asked business and civic leaders to help address the issue again. In less than a month, a group of about 20 made its way to Austin.

There the group made an adamant presentation on the Valley’s need to host regional tournaments.

There were several components that led to the Valley’s trip to Austin. Besides the rising cost of fuel and other budgetary constraints, the loss of classroom instruction time were listed by the group as the major reasons why the Region IV tournaments should be placed on a rotating basis.

Currently, basketball (University of Texas-San Antonio), volleyball (St. Mary’s) and track & field (Alamo Stadium) Region IV-5A and IV-4A tournaments are all held in San Antonio.

Class 5A and 4A soccer and tennis tournaments also take place in the Alamo City.