This winter, 400 student athletes are participating in Great Falls Public Schools athletic programs.
That’s across boys and girls basketball, wrestling and swimming.
During the Jan. 26 school board meeting, Superintendent Heather Hoyer did the “math of extracurriculars.”
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She said those student athletes average 13 hours per week:
- two hours a day for four days of practice
- one hour of pregame one day per week
- four hours per week in competition
The winter season is about 13.5 weeks, beginning Nov. 24 and running through state championships.
With 13 hours per week, over 13.5 weeks, she said that’s 175.5 hours those students each dedicate to their winter sport season.
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That number multiplied by 400 athletes, she said, totals 70,200 hours.
With 8,760 hours in a year, she said the total student hours in winter sports equates to eight years.
She thanked winter sports students for their dedication and their families for their role in getting students to and from practices and supporting their student athletes.
*Photo by Matt Ehnes for The Electric


