Gymnastics meet starts early for Yom Kippur

By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 9, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Overland High School in Aurora started a gymnastics meet three hours early Wednesday so a Jewish student could compete and still get to an evening Yom Kippur celebration.

Jennifer Buechler's mother, Lisa, had complained that the meet fell on one of the two most important Jewish holidays of the year.

Overland Athletic Director Chris Denmark tried to schedule all games and matches to avoid such conflicts but made a mistake on this meet, said Tustin Amole, spokeswoman for Cherry Creek Schools.

Gymnastics meets, which usually start in the evening, started at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Amole said. Jewish participants were allowed to go first so they could make the Yom Kippur observances, which typically start after sundown.

Lisa Buechler said she was "thrilled that the Cherry Creek school district responded quickly" so her daughter could attend the 8:30 p.m. service.

Buechler said the conflicts "happen every year with either music or sports or clubs."

Amole said athletic events usually are scheduled about a year in advance. The district sends a multicultural calendar to schools to help them try to avoid conflicts, she said.

Bruce H. DeBoskey of the Anti-Defamation League said, "This should be the last time a public school forces a Jewish student to choose between observing a holy day of fasting and prayer or participating in an athletic event."

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