While The Campanile applauds the Athletic Department for recent improvements in transparency regarding sports funding, we think it still needs to work on providing student-athletes with safer, more equitable experiences when participating in their sports.
Many teams The Campanile spoke to report having trouble supporting their programs financially, especially since the Sports Boosters disbanded during COVID-19. Though there are attempts underway to try to rebuild the program, until that happens, the systems in place don’t seem to adequately prioritize equitable funding across sports.
Adequate funding is essential for team expenses like purchasing uniforms and equipment, hiring referees, paying registration fees and attending away events. However, the responsibilities of fundraising without a Booster program often fall on the parents of the student-athletes through heavily encouraged donations or volunteering.
To solve these issues, The Campanile urges a swift reimplementation of the Sports Boosters program, so it can collaborate with the Athletics Department to reevaluate the allocation of funding and increase transparency.
In the meantime, rather than having a large part of the burden for funding fall on student-athletes and their families, The Campanile calls on the athletic department to adjust its budget to fund all teams with an equal amount.
One area where the lack of equitable allocation of funds is noticeable is the use of uniforms. Many teams have to reuse their uniforms from past years, and cross-country even had a relay team disqualified from a meet because they didn’t have matching uniforms. Since schools do not have jurisdiction over what uniforms teams wear, teams must comply with the ever-changing standards of the local high school leagues.
There are also uniform restrictions for both girls’ and boys’ teams –– for instance, male cross-country runners must wear spandex suits and female field hockey players must wear skirts to follow California Interscholastic Federation or Santa Clara Valley Athletic League regulations. We think students should have more input, especially when working with league restrictions, to achieve more flexibility and update the rules that require students to wear uniforms that compile with the same standards that college athletes have to follow.
Finally, since college athletes have closed practices and regulated sports games that often require pre-entry screening or paid tickets, The Campanile thinks the district should establish similar safety conditions for high school practices and games.
The Campanile hopes increased student input regarding uniforms and prioritization of safety regulations will ultimately create a safer environment for student athletes to comfortably practice and compete in their sport.
Editors’ note: Athletic Director Jenny Crane and Assistant Principal for athletics, LaDonna Butler, did not respond to Campanile reporters’ questions for this story or for the story on pages A4 and A5.
