Twelve RCS students recently attended the Colonial Council Sportsmanship Summit at Hudson Valley Community College.

During a wide-ranging recent report to the board, Athletic Director Ronald Racey recently told the Board of Education that the November summit, which focused on character education and the importance of sportsmanship in a school environment, has proven to be a hit among students.

During the summit, students attend four 45-minute educational sessions on topics such as character education, sportsmanship, internet safety and the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

"The summit is just a phenomenal thing,"  Racey said, adding that the internet awareness session has had an impact on several RCS student athletes in recent years.

In other sports news, Racey:

• Introduced football coach Bob Dorrance who spoke about the team's character education program.

• Reported that participation in fall sports this year was similar to the number of participants over the past five years

• Reported that there were only two significant injuries sustained by RCS players this past fall - both of which were broken feet. That indicates the district has good training and off-season conditioning programs in place, as well as "good luck."

• Said some upgrades are still needed to the district's athletics facilities, including the tennis courts - where drainage issues are eating away at the soil beneath the court and creating uneven playing surfaces; and soccer fields, where sinkholes have developed.