BHS Athletes Rally to Defend Teammate - *UPDATE*

UPDATE: The Vermont Principal's Association ruled this afternoon that Minh John Lu will be allowed to compete in the New England Championships at Burlington High School in two weeks, Burlington High School principal Amy Mellencamp told Seven Days. Scroll down for complete update...

********

Hundreds of people are coming to the defense of a star long jumper at Burlington High School after he was disqualified from competing at the upcoming New England championships.

Minh John Lu, a BHS senior, was disqualified at the Essex invitationals this past weekend after a Middlebury coach complained about a logo visible on the athlete's compression shorts. The shorts are part of the BHS uniform, and team members have been wearing them in competitions throughout the year.

State rules govern how big a logo can be on an article of clothing worn during competition, and it varies depending on the garment.

BHS Principal Amy Mellencamp has officially protested the ruling and asked the Vermont Principal's Association to reconsider its decision, according to Mike Anderson, BHS track coach.

The ruling keeps Lu from competing in the New England championships where it is expected he would place among the top long jumpers in the region, if not end up in the top spot.

"I think it's just crazy to have the top long jumper in the state — by far — not competing in the New Englands and representing Vermont because of this violation," said Anderson, Lu's coach. Anderson said Lu is the best jumper in Vermont by nearly two feet.

Lu's best recorded jump this season is 21 feet, 10 inches, but the humble student athlete notes, he believes he can best that by close to two feet if conditions are right. Earlier this year he jumped 22 feet 8 inches in a New York competition.

The day after Saturday's meet in Essex, Kevin Chu, one of Lu's teammates and a top-ranked runner in his own right, wrote a letter to the Vermont Principal's Association asking them to reconsider Lu's disqualification. He also started a Facebook group, Protest the unjust disqualification of Minh John Lu of Burlington. The Facebook group went from a handful of supporters Sunday to nearly 700 as of Wednesday morning.

"On Sunday I wrote the letter and started the group and went to work and when I came home, my inbox was just filled," Chu told Seven Days.

"Many of the meet officials I talked to about this said the rule is in the rulebooks and they are obligated to enforce it, but I feel like track rules shouldn't matter if they don't affect the outcome of the competition," noted Chu. "There is no competitive advantage from wearing a logo. The rules in place to preserve safety and fairness and I'm all for them."

Besides, Chu adds, there are no rules saying how large a logo has to be on a pair of running shoes.

Chu was so upset with the ruling that he contemplated pulling out of the New England championships to protest the ruling. A star runner, Chu is in contention to place among the top runners.

In the end, Lu wouldn't allow him to back out.

"I think it shows how much he cares, but besides me he also has a really good chance at being all New England as well — I want him to run no matter what happens to me," said Lu. "And no matter what happens to me, I just want my teammates to focus on states this weekend — that should be the main focus for us."

The star jumper has been overwhelmed by the response to his predicament, and is trying to do his best to remain focused on this weekend's state championships. He's hoping he and his teammates can bring home a crown for the hometown crowd.

That selfless attitude has inspired many of his teammates and members of the community to rally behind him.

"New England is big but right now I'm focused on states," adds Lu, who has been competing in track events since middle school. "Whatever happens, happens and I just want to thank everyone for doing this. It's been amazing."

Lu will compete in the New England championships in the triple jump, which is not his best event. But he did qualify at the recent invitational in that event. As a top jumper in Vermont, he'd like to represent the state in the regional competition and give Vermont a shot at taking home a title in the long jump, which is his signature event.

Mike Anderson said Lu should not be disqualified because of he, the coach, made an error.

"I want to publicly apologize to Minh, for not doing my job to the best of my ability. I hope this works out for him as he is not only one of the best athletes I have ever coached, but one of my best friends," Anderson noted in a recent post to the Facebook page.

Anderson hopes Bob Johnson, the VPA official in charge of reviewing appeals, overturns the ruling and let's Lu represent Vermont in the New England competition.

Johnson failed to return phone calls from Seven Days as of this posting.

Lu remains optimistic but understands the decision is out of his hands.

"I'm not trying to get anyone else DQ'd, but there were other kids who wore the same outfit that I was and had the logo right on top, so I honestly don't know why the Middlebury coach came after me," said Lu. "I'm upset but can't really do anything about it — I just hope it all turns out positive in the end."

VPA officials could rule by the week's end.

(Photo of Minh John Lu courtesy of Kath Monstream)

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.:

The Vermont Principal's Association ruled this afternoon that Minh John Lu will be allowed to compete in the New England Championships at Burlington High School in two weeks, Burlington High School principal Amy Mellencamp told Seven Days.

"The letter essentially states that Minh John competed in good faith and had in fact been wearing the uniform that the school supplied him and that he had been competing in all year," said Mellencamp. "I'm really glad this was the decision, as it was through no fault of his own that this happened."

Even though six competitors have already been named to the Vermont team, Lu will be able to compete, said Bob Johnson, VPA's activities director. Johnson issued the ruling this afternoon.

"There was no reason to punish a student for something the adults did wrong," said Johnson. "And, I also wanted to make sure that our decision didn't mean that one of the six qualifying athletes wouldn't be able to compete."

The athlete in question, Minh John Lu, was practically speechless when he heard the news.

"It feels great. I was so excited and really happy to hear the news, I'm still pretty much speechless," said Lu. 

The VPA also said the school's track coaches would be on a one-year probation and would have to complete a refresher course on official track rules and prove they had studied the rulebook, added Johnson. They have until the start of next year's track season to prove they have read up on the rules.

Johnson said the rule related to logos on sports jerseys is applied in all 50 states, and is there to avoid gross commercialization of team uniforms.

"This isn't as much of a problem in Vermont, but in larger states its a big issue," said Johnson.

Burlington City Council to Get Spun on Disc Golf

Burlington's City Council is wading into dangerous territory tonight. No, not the activities of a waterfront manager, or election recounts, but the controversial topic of ... disc golf.

Both opponents and supporters have been emailing councilors en masse in recent days. And, it's expected that at least 50 people will speak out tonight during the public forum section of the Burlington City Council meeting.

For those who can't come to Contois, you can watch council proceedings live if you are a subscriber to BurlingtonTelecom. Tune into Channel 317. 

Supporters of preserving the woods at Leddy Park have gathered about 600 petition signatures stating support for the park, according to one opponent of disc golf. He says the majority of those petitioners are ready to oppose a nine-hole course.

"After nine months of discussions about disc golf in Leddy Park, the process at this point in time needs to move in a different direction," said Mark Barlow, founder of LeddyPark.org. "The process now needs to turn toward finding alternative locations. We should find a locations that meet B'Towns original goal of having an 18-hole course, and locations that do not have the issues associated with Leddy Park. The City Council should take Leddy Park out of consideration so that the club can begin this new phase in the process."

But, Brendan Bush, president of the B'Town Disc Golf Group said Barlow's claim that the signatories to the LeddyPark.org petition are opposed to disc golf is "complete and utter bullshit."

"These people have signed on to 'make a difference by adding your name in support of woodland preservation and protection at Leddy Park,'" said Bush. "There is no reference whatsoever to a disc golf course.  I am, in fact, in support of woodland preservation and protection at Leddy.  I also firmly believe that a disc golf course would not interfere with this support."

Barlow isn't so sure.

"Anybody who knows the park also knows that this area still being considered for disc golf also happens to be one that contains the nicest stand of woods in the park. It's particularly beautiful quiet, and wild. Commissioner Ewing made a comment about the quality of the woods in this particular area during the last PRC meeting. If you are going to preserve and protect woodland areas in the park, the area in question would certainly be on or near the top of the list," said Barlow.

Councilor Ed Adrian (D-Ward 1) has authored a resolution that would put a disc golf course up for a citywide vote, while Councilor Russ Ellis (D-Ward 4) has authored a resolution to ban disc golf from Leddy Park — indefinitely.

For the record, both Mayor Bob Kiss and outgoing Parks & Rec Director Wayne Gross opposed the Leddy Park plan. At least one thing they agreed on.

In recent weeks, the Burlington Parks & Recreation Commission denied an 18-hole course for Leddy Park, but left open the door to creating a nine-hole course. That evaluation has just gotten underway, but could be short-circuited by the City Council.

Bush finds it ironic that disc-golf opponents who claimed they were shut out of the decision-making process a year ago now want to shut down the public process.

“We are confident that a nine-hole course will prove to be so popular among Burlington residents that we'll soon be discussing plans to expand the course,” said Bush. “We'd also like to reiterate our openness to work with park neighbors and other concerned citizens to make sure that our new proposal adequately addresses their concerns.”

Given the showdown tonight, methinks the opportunity to work together in a spirit of openness has pretty much been tossed to the wind.

Photo of disc golf course in Johnson by Eva Sollberger.

Rolling in the Rain

In years past, I’ve chosen to spectate the Vermont City Marathon from the safety of my bike saddle. I would ride along side of runners we knew and shout things at them like “Looking good!” and “You’ve got puke on your running shorts!” I’m pretty sure they really appreciated my support. This past Sunday, I decided I would follow the marathon atop my bicycle again, only this time I would try to serve as a bike marshal.

The marshals follow the first and last runners and the first and last wheelchair athletes. They needed someone to follow the last wheelchair racer, so I offered to help. I caught up with the last wheeled participant halfway up the Beltline. He was in a standard push chair, not a racing wheelchair like all the other wheeled participants. His name was Danny Perry and he’s a VCM regular.

I couldn’t believe he was pushing his way up the lonely, sodden hill in a regular wheelchair. Granted, that’s what he does every day, but he probably doesn’t push himself up the Beltline or Battery Street all that often if he can help it. Obviously, heading up the Beltline, Danny was getting passed by every single runner. And just about every single person who ran by him said something like “Good job, man!,” “Yeah, buddy! Push it!,” “You’re awesome, dude! Keep it up!” Some of them even felt the need to touch him while he was pushing. Danny didn’t acknowledge any of them. I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he was thinking “Don’t touch me, you schmaltzy cornballs.” Maybe he was thinking “All your treacly cheers are screwing up my cadence.” Or maybe he wasn’t thinking anything at all. Perhaps he was zenned out and too focused on making it to the next mile that he wasn’t listening to the platitudes and praise.

The fact that Danny could get up those huge hills didn’t surprise me since he’s likely been a chair user for some time. But what was sort of astounding to me was that he wasn’t wearing gloves or any sort of sporty tech gear. He was just wearing worn out sneakers, cargo shorts and a cotton T-shirt like he accidentally ended up in the race on his way to the grocery store. And the fact that he wasn’t using a race chair was pretty unbelievable. All of his fellow wheeled competitors had handcycles with gears and brakes. Danny had no gears and no brakes.

Disc Golf in Burlington — Like Gitmo or Gay Marriage?

This week, the Burlington Parks & Recreation Commission unanimously voted down a proposal to build an 18-hole disc golf course at Leddy Park in the city's New North End.

As with any hotly debated topic, it takes more than a single vote to keep a good controversy down.

As readers of "Fair Game" know, this has been a controversial issue in Burlington and one I've poked fun at, given the intense opposition and emotional outbursts at public hearings — largely outbursts by opponents. Same-sex marriage had an easier, and less emotional, go-round as public policy than disc golf has. Only in Vermont.

In fact, given the debate in yesterday's U.S. Senate, I could see Guantanamo Bay being closed down before a disc golf course is ever sited in Burlington. And with good reason: Disc golf is certainly a security threat. Especially if you're a tree or woodland creature, or someone strolling peaceably through the woods, according to opponents.

But I digress. There really are serious issues at play here.

Potential VP's VPL

I have to say this is the best VPL (Visible Panty Line) I've seen in a long time. But what's most interesting is that it's the VPL of one of the VP candidates.

Yes, that's Sarah Palin (#22) playing for the Wasilla Warriors against their rivals, the Palmer Moose. My friend played for Palmer. (Thanks for the yearbook, Maria). 

Did she even get off the ground? I think not. At least Joe Biden's got a jump shot.

Burlington Criterium Men's Top Pro Race

Here's a short video of the Burlington Criterium race yesterday with a final shot of Jake Hollenbach of Skirack winning the Men's Top Pro race. There are a variety of shots from different locations on the track. It is really cool to see downtown transformed into a race course for the event each year.

I'm a big fan of the Mini Cooper pace car too!

Green Mountain Derby Dames

Green Mountain Derby Dames from Howlermano on Vimeo.

Well hello there, Blurt readers.

Yesterday afternoon, I posted a new video featuring The Green Mountain Derby Dames over on my own little slice of cyberspace, Solid State, and I thought I'd share it with you folks, too.

A little bit of background:

The video was filmed by Jeff Holwett from Howlerman Productions. Mr. Howlett is better known among music fans as the front man for local hardcore outfit 5 Seconds Expired, who rock. Hard. The music for this particular vid was provided by Boston punk band The Faithfull, who rock pretty hard themselves.

The Derby Dames are . . . well, you'll see. But they rock too. Just as hard, if not harder, than the previously mentioned bands, in fact. If any of you folks happen to run into them, please let them know I said so, because I believe they have it out for me . . .

Without further adieu, The Green Mountain Derby Dames!

The Sox take on Japan. Officially.

Well, the Red Sox are en route to Japan! And even better, Dice-K is with them.

When the trip was first proposed, the major 'cool factor' for fans was that our new favorite right-hander would get to play the season opener in his homeland. But then his wife got pregnant and plans got shakey. Luckily, Mrs. Matsuzaka (Tomoyo Shibata), gave birth to a healthy baby this past Saturday, and according to reports, the new dad might even serve as starting pitcher.

Or at least that was the word until yesterday when the question arose as to whether or not there would even be a game to start! Apparently the players were promised a $40,000 stipend (stipend? seriously?) for their trip, and having the camaraderie that the Red Sox organization has, simply assumed that the stipend would also apply to all coaches, trainers, and other staff also making the journey to Tokyo.

Turns out, that wasn't the plan.

So, taking a cue from the rest of the country which was riddled with war protests, the Sox staged a protest of their own, refusing to leave the dugout until more fair terms were agreed upon.

Of course the players aren't really activists by nature so the sit-in (dugout-in?) didn't last more than an hour, but they did reach their goal, and the official website of the team confirms that Rich Levin, senior Vice President of public relations for MLB stated that all involved with the trip will be fairly compensated.

You can read a full report here.

And if you want to see that opening pitch yourself, set your alarm early for Tuesday March 25! The first pitch is at 6:05 AM.

Of course if you'd prefer to not watch the game alone in your pajamas, you could head over to Koto for their "Boston Red Sake" event. Big screens, free coffee, and Japanese breakfast specials... it does sound tempting...