by Maggie Reese ‘24

Imagine the stands of a high school sporting event packed with a crowd. Screaming students, worried parents, proud grandparents–all there to create a memorable part of the high school athletics experience for those on the field. Unfortunately, the reality is that there are only a handful of students in attendance for some games. MCPS charges students $5 to attend sports events, a cost that contributes to students not coming out to support their school’s teams. A simple but effective way to increase the number of fans at games and to promote more school spirit is to reduce or even waive the cost for students.

MCPS should reallocate more of its budget towards athletics rather than requiring teenagers to pay to see their own school’s teams play. If it’s not feasible for students to attend games for free, they still would be more likely to go to sporting events if the cost was lowered to $2 or $3. Varsity football games could remain at the cost of $5 since it is a high-interest event. There also should be special promotions for underappreciated sports in which there is no cost for attendance for anyone for at least one home game per season. The first priority should be getting students in the stands rather than making a buck off of them.