WEST FARGO - A boys soccer match between two metro high schools scheduled for Thursday night was postponed so some West Fargo players could observe a Muslim holiday, a first in the metro area.
The match between West Fargo and Fargo Shanley-Oak Grove was rescheduled to allow West Fargo players to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, one of the two major holidays observed by Muslims who practice Islam.
West Fargo Activities Director Jay DeCann said he and the Packers coaching staff requested the delay after they learned of the conflict Tuesday night returning home from a match in Grand Forks.
"The players talked to the coaches," DeCann said.
DeCann then alerted Fargo Shanley Activities Director Michael Breker on Wednesday morning and the two agreed to postpone the match and reschedule it for Oct. 8.
ADVERTISEMENT
DeCann and West Fargo head coach James Moe didn't say how many students would have missed the match. Moe said it wasn't a majority, but a significant number of athletes.
Moe said this is the first time he has had to reschedule a match because of a Muslim holiday such as Eid al-Adha.
"I think it's just something to be aware of as our community becomes more diverse," he said. "It's something to be thinking about as we get into it, and for the guys to approach us about it as well. Sometimes, it is important that the high school kids take care of some of those communication pieces as well."
The Forum was alerted to the postponement Thursday morning in an email from Breker citing Thursday as a day of religious obligation for the Muslim community. He declined further comment, but Blessed John Paul II Catholic Schools Superintendent Michael Smith said the situation merited accommodations to be made.
"We understand the importance of religious holidays," Smith said. "Our community is based on these celebrations. Therefore, we completely respect West Fargo's decision to honor the religious holidays their community deems important."
Shanley is a private, faith-based Catholic school. Shanley-Oak Grove is a co-op program that draws participants from Shanley, Oak Grove and Moorhead Park Christian-all of which are private Christian high schools.
Fargo Public Schools Activities Director Todd Olson said there is flexibility in local scheduling to accommodate a variety of needs to reschedule, such as the one brought forth by West Fargo, that eliminate the possibility a team should have to forfeit.
Area schools, in general, acknowledge some major Christian holidays in their scheduling. For instance, most take extended time off around Christmas and schedule a day off on Good Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT
But Olson said West Fargo's request was the first time a metro area team needed to reschedule a game to observe a religious holiday. It's something the longtime athletic director said will need to be accommodated when future schedules are made.
"As athletic administrators, we want to make sure all the participants can participate, and we are going to have to look into it more as our community continues to change," Olson said. "We are going to look into it."
Matt Fetsch, executive director of the North Dakota High School Activities Association, said its member schools determine regular season schedules for its sports and activities. The only way a circumstance like Thursday's postponement would involve the NDHSAA is if a postseason contest came into conflict.
"If it gets to that point, it would be something we would have to re-evaluate at the time," Fetsch said.
He said had the two schools not been able to come to a mutual agreement to reschedule the match, the NDHSAA board of directors would have needed to make a ruling.
West Fargo and Shanley-Oak Grove entered Thursday tied for first place in the Eastern Dakota Conference standings. West Fargo is the defending state soccer champion.
Moe said Shanley's administrators showed class by agreeing to rescheduling the game.
"I think it shows the character of the school and coaching staff and the players there," Moe said. "I think it's just that mutual respect for players and for different cultures, and I think it was a show of respect for the guys and the diversity we have in the community."
