With the Georgia High School Sports Association  reclassifying schools every two years, Midtown Athletics will move from Class 4A to Class 6A beginning with the 2026-27 school year. 

Prior to 2024, GHSA consisted of seven different classifications organized by school size. In 2024, GHSA removed Class 7A, which impacted school placement, and moved the Knights from 5A to 4A. For the 2026-28 school years, GHSA has decided to transition Class 1A Division II to Class 1A and Class 1A Division I to Class 2A. These changes have reintroduced Class 7A and rapid population growth has boosted Midtown into Class 6A. Amid these recent changes, the Knights are expected to face intense competition next school year. However, Athletic Director Blair Barksdale said the jump isn’t as big of a change as most perceive it as.

“It doesn’t sound as bad as everybody took it to begin with,” Barksdale said. “Insead of having Class 1 and Class 1A, they turned 1A into 2A. So if you think about it, that moves everyone up one [classification]. So that puts us at 5A going into reclassification. And we are growing so fast, so that moves us out of 5A and into 6A.”

When GHSA goes through the reclassification process, schools have the option to appeal. Barksdale said the decision to accept going into Class 6A was carefully thought through, considering different aspects of the change. Midtown will be in Region 4-AAAAAA, consisting of Alcovy, Chamblee, Decatur, Dunwoody, Heritage, Lakeside, Meadowcreek and Shiloh.

“Dr. Bockman, [Athletic Director] Hill and I decided it was best to stay [in Class 6A],” Barksdale said. “There’s only one private school, Woodward. So then it came down to who do we think our region will be? When you look at all the sports, we determined we think we’ll have good success. Some sports have competition in the region, and some sports will have to make the schedule outside of the region really hard for more preparation looking to get through the playoffs longer. Now this allows all teams to have a better playing field.”

Whereas some sports have had minimal exposure to teams they will face in the coming season, other sports, such as soccer, have already had exposure to some of these teams and this level of competition, due to coaches scheduling games outside of the region.

“We already play higher level teams anyway,” junior soccer player Oliver Bell said. “So we’ll consistently be able to play those teams. Our coach might want us to prepare some more, but since we’ve already played some of these teams, it’s not going to be that different.”

Barksdale said she is anticipating more overall success among Midtown athletics.

“I think this will allow us to grow the program,” Barksdale said. “It will give us an opportunity to give those sports that maybe have inched into the playoffs or haven’t made the playoffs more of an opportunity, which also leads to us building a bigger athletic program. Those programs that may not have as many kids in them, like football and girls basketball, will be affected. We’re going to end up with success and we’re going to be able to build these programs and make them like soccer, baseball and lacrosse.”

Girls track coach Joshua Washington said this change was unexpected to him.

“I was a bit shocked when I saw Midtown was going up to be a 6A school,” Washington said. “From a size perspective, I’m not surprised, but from an athletics perspective, I’m surprised. Typically the larger schools in 6A and 7A have the larger populations, but they also have the larger populations of kids that play sports. Midtown is not one of those schools where the majority of the kids or students play sports. Although number-wise, we have a large total enrollment, the percentage of those kids that actually play sports is not that large.”

Despite Washington’s initial reaction, he doesn’t think much will change with the track program.

“When we have major invitationals, there can be anywhere between 15-30 schools and all of those schools are different classifications,” Washington said. “So we spend the majority of our season anyway competing with schools that are larger and smaller than us, so there won’t be much of an impact. We’ll fit right into [region play] because in a way, we spend our whole season preparing for schools like those.”

Because of the wider population at larger schools, there is a wider selection of athletes, meaning athletics typically get more competitive as the class increases. Junior volleyball player Nora Goodman said she expects the unfamiliar competition to affect her personal development.

“We’ve already played Decatur and Chamblee, so I think we have a pretty good sense of them,” Goodman said. “It will definitely be interesting watching film or preparing for other teams we’re going to play, because I haven’t even heard of some of the schools we’ll play next year. I feel like it will introduce some new, fun competition that I’ve never seen before, and really make me have to adjust my skill set or develop more in specific areas to kind of go against that new competition. So I’m excited to see what the change will bring to my personal growth, as well as the team’s [growth].”

Barksdale emphasizes that Midtown should define success through the growth of the school’s athletic program rather than overall performance.

“It’s not all about wins and losses,” Barksdale said. “It’s about growing. I think we’ll see other traditional sports start getting more wins and better placement. All of our sports are in good places, but I think that we’ll get more notoriety, more exposure. It’ll also be a new classification for coaches to see how we are too. I think that is also a good test.”

STEWARTVILLE, Minn. (KTTC) – While the Stewartville community looks to recover after Friday’s shooting, which resulted in the death of a man and an injured student, a GoFundMe has been set up in support of the Stewartville Wrestling Family.

The GoFundMe states that the funds collected will go towards the families of those involved in the shooting, as they “work through this very difficult situation.”

As of 6 p.m. on Sunday, the GoFundMe has accumulated $23,850 in donations, as it works toward its goal of $40,000.

If you would like to chip in, a link to the GoFundMe will be provided here.

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Based on an audience vote, here are the Athletes of the Future Great Eight Youth Sports Plays of the Fall. All eight athletes on the countdown are entitled to a free week of training at Athletes of the Future!
8. Lyle Lang, Killingly-Brooklyn youth football
6. Kinsley Wheatley, Montville youth football
5. Cam Friday, Griswold youth football
4. Christopher Moreau, Plainfield youth football
3. Dominic Narvaez, Groton-Mystic youth football
2. CJ Santos and Layne LeCara, East Lyme youth football
1. Kali Arbour, Waterford U15 soccer

Read More…

For 16-year-old Teesside resident Mitchell Tinkler, son of ConocoPhillips employee Steven Tinkler, powerchair football has become more than just a sport; it’s been a path to belonging, achievement and joy.

Steven remembers the day Mitchell first tried powerchair football, a fast-paced sport that enables individuals with physical impairments to play football. 

It was a rainy Sunday in 2019, and the Tinkler family had journeyed to a local club in Darlington to see if the sport would be a good fit for 10-year-old Mitchell, who was born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness and degeneration.

“We sat in the car, thinking, ‘What’s this going to be like?’” Steven recalled.  

As Mitchell maneuvered around the court during the tryout, George Radcliffe, Darlington Powerchair Football Club co-founder and coach, analyzed his performance.

“He’s good,” George told Steven, recognizing Mitchell’s potential.    

“You’ve only watched him for five minutes, George,” said Steven. “How can you tell he’s good?”

“He’s got great hand-eye coordination,” George said. “His timing is great. He can drive backwards. He’s going to be good. He’ll go on to do great things.”

That pivotal experience set things in motion, with the Tinklers discovering more than just a new sporting activity for Mitchell, whose declining mobility required him to start using a power wheelchair around age 10.

“From Mitchell’s first trial, three things stood out,” Steven said. “He really enjoyed it; he had a natural talent; and that this opportunity wasn’t just about football. The welcome we got from the Darlington team, the recognition, the camaraderie, all struck us that first day.”

‘It’s nice to know you are the same as everyone else’

During his first two seasons, Mitchell played for Darlington Powerchair Football Club, which competed in a regional league. He was the leading goal scorer in his first year and contributed to the team’s regional championship win.

“It was a sign of things to come,” Steven said.

In 2021, Mitchell achieved a new milestone when he got an opportunity to play for the Teesside Powerchair Football Club (PFC), helping the team qualify for a coveted spot in the Wheelchair Football Association’s National League, which consists of the Premiership and the Championship divisions. It was a tough couple of games, but they won, and Mitchell scored the winning goal that propelled Teesside PFC into the National League.

Mitchell continued playing with Darlington PFC for a couple more seasons before making the move to Teesside PFC, and along the way, the Tinkler family traveled to international powerchair football tournaments, including memorable trips to Bruges in Belgium, and Belfast in Northern Ireland. The experience in Bruges stood out, Steven said, for the hotel’s exceptional wheelchair access, and the event itself gave Mitchell invaluable opportunities to train and compete alongside some of the world’s top powerchair players.

In 2025, Mitchell reached the current pinnacle of his sporting journey, contributing to Teesside PFC’s victory in the Premiership, the highest tier of the National League. His peers voted him Young Player of the Season, and he also received the Goal of the Season Award. He has recently been accepted on to the National Emerging Talent Program and has been invited to a training camp at Lilleshall, the historic home of English Football.

“I really enjoy powerchair football,” Mitchell said, “it’s great to play against other amazing players and beat them, and it’s nice to know that you’re the same as everyone else.”

Alongside his athletic achievements, Mitchell’s positive attitude and zest for life have made him a much loved and respected figure within the powerchair football community.

“He has a lot of friends in the sport,” said Mitchell’s mother, Kate. “It’s really nice to be part of a welcoming community that understands disability, where everybody gets it at an individual and a family level. It has done wonders for his self-confidence, and the acceptance of his disability, it’s great that he’s been given the opportunity to play a sport he loves and thrive at an elite level. Like when we were in Bruges, entering the hotel, which had over 50 accessible rooms, and instantly clicking with every new player or family member was an emotional experience and when sightseeing, we were never short of advice around the best accessible loos.”

Sharing Mitchell’s success with colleagues

At ConocoPhillips, Steven has been sharing Mitchell’s achievements with his Teesside Oil Terminal colleagues and also members of the employee resource group, A Better Life for Everyone Network (ABLE).

ABLE raises awareness and provides support, coaching, mentoring and networking opportunities for employees with disabilities, as well as employees with family members connected through disabilities.

Steven said ABLE gives him the opportunity to talk about Mitchell and be authentic at work.

“If I didn’t talk about Mitchell or I didn’t talk about my family or powerchair football,” he said, “it would be a part of my life that I wasn’t bringing to work.”

On ABLE’s social networking page, Steven shared a documentary on powerchair football, “3 in a Box: The Powerchair Documentary,” made by his 20-year-old daughter, Elliotte Tinkler, for her Media and Performance studies at the University of Salford.  

Elliotte’s documentary powerfully highlights that powerchair football is not just a recreational activity, but a highly competitive sport that demands remarkable skill, strategic thinking and unwavering determination from its athletes.

“Tissues may be required,” Steven noted when he shared Elliotte’s video.

Although Mitchell’s condition limits his mobility, he does all the normal teenage things, focusing on what he can do rather than what he can’t.  

When he’s not playing powerchair football, he’s gaming on his Xbox or socializing with his friends on his computer. Mitchell plans to study game design at college.

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Steven Tinkler | Competency Assurance Team Leader

Steven, whose background is in mechanical engineering, moved into a Human Resources role in 2021, where he works as a competency assurance team leader in the Norway business unit.

He oversees Teesside’s training and competency team, which won HR&D (Human Resources and Development) Awards for Excellence in Organizational Development (2024) and Excellence in Leadership Development (2025).

“We train, we confirm competency and support personal development,” he said. “But more than that, fundamentally, all our activity is in support of the business and its development. We constantly work to understand what the business needs, and we help them deliver it.”