“In the last 173 days, Pleasant Valley has won girls’ state championships in track & field, golf, softball, cross country and volleyball. Quite a run,” freelance sports columnist Matt Coss posted to X on Nov. 7 following the PV volleyball state championship win.
While undoubtedly an incredible statistic and streak for PV girls, this tweet, among many other media postings regarding recent successes, fails to mention the state championships won by the PV girl’s dance team, PV Platinum. Dance is not a school-sanctioned sport in Iowa, forcing all teams to be a part of ISDTA, the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association.
The ISDTA serves as the equivalent of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) for the dance teams in the state. Cheerleading, which is also not a school-sanctioned sport, is operated by the Iowa Cheerleading Association. Both sports have been sanctioned by the PV school district for nearly a decade. The real issue occurs at the state level.
The IGHSAU fails to recognize dance at the state level, meaning all funding, events, uniforms, travel and any other expenses fall on the athletes and their families. “Being a member of the Pleasant Valley Platinum Dance Team costs roughly $1,500 dollars a year. This is because we have to do everything on our own. We complete all our own fundraisers to help our team be able to afford the things we need for our regular season. When you’re a school sanctioned sport I am sure there are still costs involved, but I know it’s not that expensive. The only thing the school pays for is our entry into the state, and our hotel,” junior Platinum dancer Maicey Munn said.
While not detrimental to everyone, the commitment comes at a cost for athletes and their families. “I think that financially being a dancer, it’s very expensive. We have to buy costumes, hairpieces, makeup etc. along with the payment of being on the team. This hasn’t personally affected me financially, but when we host fundraisers, the dancers are the ones working them and committing our time and effort to them,” senior Platinum dancer Molly Butcher said.
For PV, being a school-sanctioned sport comes with a designated set of rules. Those rules are laid out by the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) for all high school sports. Although they follow the same rules as everyone else, it often feels as though they are not nearly as important or prioritized. “I think that we get less attention from our school, as well as less resources. I think other high school teams receive more support and recognition, and we are seen more as just ‘dancers,’” Butcher expressed.
As clearly stated by Matt Coss in the above X post, PV girls athletics are undoubtedly on a historic run. Unfortunately, among the consistent recognition PV receives, the PV Platinum dance team is continuously excluded due to their status as a nonstate-sanctioned sport.
