This year’s Presidents Cup is set to take place in September of 2026 at the Medinah Country Club, which will impact both Lake Park campuses with school closures from the week of September 21-25.
Hosting the event at Medinah brings one of golf’s premier international competitions to the area. The Presidents Cup is a men’s golf tournament held every two years in which the United States competes against a team of the world’s best golf players from countries outside of Europe. The tournament rotates between being played in venues in the United States and international venues around the world, most recently being played in Montreal, Canada.
Due to the Country Club being so close to Lake Park, schools need to be temporarily closed for the week the Presidents Cup is being held. Both campuses will be used for parking, and East will be used as an Uber drop-off and pickup location for anyone attending the event, which includes many high profile individuals such as professional players, celebrities, and potentially even the president of the United States, as current sitting presidents are invited to attend.
“We are not forced to close schools; however, it absolutely makes sense to do so and we are happy to support this amazing international event in our community,” West Campus Principal Dr. Alexia Ellett, said.
This is not the first time Lake Park had to close their buildings to accommodate a golfing tournament at the Medinah Country Club.
In September 2012, Lake Park had to shut their doors for the all famous Ryder Cup, a different yet identical competition where the United States faces a European team in a three day tournament. Having dealt with the Ryder Cup, Lake Park was able to implement some of the closing procedures used in 2012 and improve on some others to ensure smooth schedule changes next school year as a result of the Presidents Cup.
“We’ve known the 2026 Presidents Cup will be played in Medinah ever since late 2020, so it gave us multiple years to prepare for it,” Dr. Ellett said. “Because we’ve gone through this with the Ryder Cup, we have a much better understanding of what it takes to accommodate for an event of this magnitude.”
Changes to the 2026-2027 school year will be made to make up the time lost as a result of the Presidents Cup. The school year is going to start two days earlier than normal, the winter holiday break will be shortened by three days, to make up for the five days lost.
“E-learning days were considered, however decided against considering that from the school closing for past events, such as the Ryder Cup, days could be easily built back into the calendar,” Dr. Ellett said. “It feels easier to just close the schools entirely instead of having to deal with the problems that come about from online learning.”
The Presidents Cup will bring a lot of funding to the school district, which Dr. Ellett ensures will go right back to the students to improve athletics and activities as well as improving school facilities and decor.
Money will come from not only providing parking space, but also from Lake Park students assisting in the running of the Presidents Cup.
Volunteer opportunities will be provided for students and staff members who may want to participate in some way with the Presidents Cup. Dr. Ellett remains excited and grateful about the opportunity for Lake Park students to be a part of such a big event.
“This is an event that only takes place once every two years in the United States, and so the fact they’ve allowed our community to get involved and for that to benefit our school is so incredibly cool to me,” Dr. Ellett said.
East Campus will remain completely closed the week of the President’s Cup. West campus will be open for practices and athletic events only at certain hours of the day.
Any questions about the school closure can be answered by our principals, Dr. Elett and EC Principal Dr. Sean Potts.
