Please read, for some background and perspective:
As you are aware, WISDAA had every intention of returning to UW-Madison this year. We had been meeting with university officials (most of whom were new within the past year or two), and hit a snag in March, when we were given an estimate that room rental rates would have cost WISDAA about $10,000, plus additional insurance we had not carried before. These changes came about due to legislative and policy changes since we were last on campus in 2019. We felt this would have been an irresponsible expense to have to pass along to schools, plus we had a number of schools express concern with the burden of UW System required chaperone/supervision ratios. One thing we learned in this process is to get an agreement in writing, far sooner. For its entire history, there has never been a contract/agreement in place for the event, are we are going to change that modus operandi.
Even as we pivoted again to DeForest, we kept conversations going with UW, and they do have a pathway to waive some fees, but there still will be increased cost to WISDAA (which we would have to pass along to schools in increased fees), as well as the chaperone/supervision requirement.
We also heard feedback at DeForest this year pertaining to challenges of parking, walking, supervision of students, etc. at UW, particularly for students, adjudicators, and coaches with physical access needs, where there are zero parking options near Bascom Hall, proximate to the classroom buildings we are given to utilize. While we could consider renting rooms at one of the two UW union buildings, that carries additional expense, as well.
Last year (2023), a coach responded to the survey and wrote, “when you return to UW-Madison, just use one building.” Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. We are at the mercy of classrooms the university gives us, and university buildings are typically a mix of classrooms and offices, with far fewer classrooms than high school buildings typically have.
We have been asked if we could run the event like WSMA for solo/ensemble. Since music is required in every school by state statute, the WSMA is far more resourced than WISDAA, with a full time staff of 11 (as opposed to WISDAA’s 1 full-time and 1 part-time staff). Therefore, expanding the event to multiple venues and/or dates would be a drain on resources and increase cost for schools.
We would love to hear from you, as a coach, in terms of the direction in which you would like us to go. As we move forward, our intention is to “lock down” our venue by January 1.
