With two early dismissals per week by nearly an hour, the golf team is the Spartan team with the most excused time out of school. About twice a week, the team is dismissed at around 2 p.m. to go to their matches. For the boys team, that means every match except the one on Saturday morning this year; for the girls, that means every meet except the one that happens May 24, the first day of final exams.

It’s not uncommon for the team to be dismissed a couple of hours before the meet. For example, the week of May 9, the team was dismissed at 2:20 for a match against Providence Academy at Medina Country Club, taking place at 4 p.m. Additionally, on May 10, the team was dismissed at 2:05 p.m. for a match against Visitation at the Inverwood Champion Golf Course at 3:20 p.m.

While these dismissals may seem too early, the team needs time to arrive at the course and gather their equipment. Some locations the team plays at are over half an hour away from school.

For each golfer, the effects of the early dismissals vary.

Junior Nikola Barkwell said, “It can be difficult to deal with early dismissals, but as long as you contact your teachers and make sure you get your questions answered it is not too much of a problem.”

While Barkwell has had to miss some classes for golf matches, Sonia Ross’ schedule aligned well that week.

Ross said, “The only two early dismissals I took were during my free periods.”

In addition to getting questions answered, missing school due to early dismissals requires time management skills. Barkwell said, “as long as you stay on top of your work and really plan out your time well the work is not difficult to make up.”