FAIRBANKS, Alaska — High school sports teams in Alaska regularly rely on air travel to compete in regular-season games due to extreme distances, safety concerns, and a lack of roads to certain villages.
Mike Hollett is the head football coach and activities director at North Pole High School. He said Patriot teams in almost every sport spend time flying each season.
"It is challenging," Hollett told MTN Sports during a recent trip to Fairbanks.
One destination is Barrow, which features the northernmost football field in the world. The field is located over 300 miles above the Arctic Circle and sits on the Arctic Ocean.
WATCH why Alaska high school teams routinely take flight, including to neutral site football championships:
"You punt the ball, it goes backwards. You throw the ball, it goes into the ocean. It’s a crazy experience," Hollett said with a smile.
While Montana teams can experience long bus playoff bus rides — such as a 700-mile trip from Superior to Culbertson — Alaskan schools commonly budget airfare for not only the postseason, but also regular-season trips.
Kate LaPlaunt is married to a Havre native and has been with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District for 25 years as an assistant superintendent.
"(We can) fly or drive down to Anchorage. They have to fly to some of the other locations, even Juneau, which is our capital," LaPlaunt said.
Basketball is a major attraction in Alaskan villages. Those fans often get to games via snowmobiles — or snow-goes, as they sometimes call them.
North Pole’s boys recently flew to a four-game series but ran into rough weather.
"Too many clouds. They got turned around, back to Anchorage for the night. Loaded up, did it again, turned around and came back for the night. Finally made it out there to play a couple games versus Bethel," Hollett said.
While Montana schools are considering neutral-site state football championship games, the Last Frontier is already on board awarding three-year contracts.
"The neutral site works well, especially in a state the size of Alaska. It kind of evens it out because now both teams are traveling to the state championship game," Hollett said.
The football season up north is also condensed. Practices begin in July, kicks off in mid-August, and state championships are decided in October.
"We probably have the smallest football season of anywhere," LaPlaunt said.
And unlike most states, Alaska’s Shrine All-Star Classic is played immediately following championship weekend.
"The game used to be later. Kids are still in shape. That’s a big plus. We actually fly for our trip,” Hollett said.
Only in Alaska does high school’s road to victory commonly start with a boarding pass.
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