Brewer High School will be one of 125 schools honored by the Alabama High School Athletic Association for finishing the 2009-10 school year without an ejection or a state-mandated fine.
The 125 schools to earn the honor from the state is up 20 percent from 2008-09 when 104 schools reached that sportsmanship goal.
Brewer High School will be honored at the AHSAA’s third annual sportsmanship luncheon July 14 at noon at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center. The Patriots’ athletic department is one of 23 schools to be honored from District 8.
The award is given to schools who promote sportsmanship behavior during high school athletic events.
All 125 schools with zero fines and ejections will be recognized and presented a banner to be placed in the recipient’s school.
Schools that earned banners in 2008 or 2009 will receive a special patch to be added to the banner the school currently has.
Al.com will also present eight grants of $1,000 each to one of the schools from each of the AHSAA’s eight districts.
“Star Sportsmanship is now one of the eligibility requirements for every student-athlete attending an AHSAA member school. This is exciting news and shows the commitment our member schools have made to developing strong sportsmanship initiatives in each school,” said AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese. “We have registered more than 175,000 students, coaches, game officials and parents since the STAR Sportsmanship program was implemented. It, along with a renewed commitment by our administrators, coaches, students and communities, is making a major difference. These schools have shown by their positive actions that stressing the important character- building traits go hand-in-hand with STAR and good sportsmanship.”
The organization developed the AHSAA’s STAR Sportsmanship program that was mandated by the AHSAA Central Board of Control for all schools prior to the 2007-08 school year and it has made a substantial impact on sportmanship infractions.

Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com