It’s no surprise that Souderton football games attract the most attendees, as football has left its permanent mark on American culture, but what about the other sports?
Due to varying factors, Souderton sports have fewer and fewer students lining the stands, whether it’s baseball or girls volleyball.
Student spirit is an essential aspect of the high school experience. Attending sporting events, getting involved in clubs and representing the student body is a crucial element to a gratifying school journey.
Games are a chance for the students to bond over Souderton pride, whether that’s under a blanket at a soccer match with a side of hot chocolate or in the middle of the student section screaming organized chants.
There’s no better feeling than celebrating with your peers in thematic outfits after witnessing a Souderton win, especially when you’re surrounded by the Souderton community. However, as Souderton sports kick off the fall season, fewer students seem eager to participate in the variety of sporting events occurring nearly every day.
For some students, a lack of interest and connection to Souderton sports seems to be a contributing factor to not attending school sporting events.
“I don’t like sports, so why should I care?” some students may ask themselves as they scroll through their Instagram feed and come across a post by Souderton Athletics urging students to come to an upcoming game.
The truth is, sporting events are way more than just a show of athletic skill; they are a chance to bond with your peers over a shared experience, build comradery and understanding within the community and a genuine opportunity to foster memories based on a celebration of school spirit.
For example, being a part of the silence that falls over Souderton’s natatorium as Souderton divers prepare for an explosive yet intricate dive is easily enjoyable and exciting whether you’re a diving-enthusiast or not.
To increase school spirit, schools, especially colleges, have implemented incentives and point-systems to encourage students to attend school sporting events and consequently enhance school spirit.
For example, the University of South Carolina (USC) established an attendance point system with their tickets to promote school sporting events.
When students arrive at games, their previously-purchased tickets are scanned and points are uploaded to their rewards account. The more games a student attends, the more points they earn.
“Non-conference football and basketball games will earn you 2 points each, while conference games will earn you 1 point,” social media intern Zach Kinsley said via USC’s website. “All other sporting events are worth 1 point unless we play Clemson.”
Points are also awarded automatically based on seniority to encourage students of all grade levels to attend school athletic events and heighten school spirit.
USC even awards an extra point to students who stay the entire length of a football game by making vouchers available at the completion of non-conference football games.
According to USC’s website, “The more events you attend, the more points you can collect toward winning sports gear and other great prizes.”
Other schools like Syracuse University, Michigan State University and University of Alabama also do their own version of a points system to reward student loyalty at sporting events. A point system that inspires and rewards student involvement is beneficial, and could even be implemented at Souderton.
According to Souderton athletic director Dennis Stanton, the amount of student attendees going to sporting events has increased since removing ticket prices from all sporting events but football.
For football, Souderton has also made all ticket sales digital to not only increase efficiency but to make the process of buying tickets and therefore attending football games more user-friendly.
By continuing to make the process of attending games not only more cost-efficient but time-efficient, Souderton is moving in the right direction to an athletic environment defined by school spirit. But even with an improved system of ticket-purchasing, the increase of fans has still been undesirable.
A possible solution for Souderton, and many other schools across the country, is to take inspiration from USC’s system and others like it.
With an online system already existing, Souderton is able to adopt the points-per-ticket platform.
USC gives points to individual students for tickets they buy through their account. If Souderton created a way for students to make accounts, points could be rewarded to them with every ticket purchase.
Different sporting events and seniority could alter the points awarded, just as many other systems do.
While points earning better seats may not fit in our school, rewards could be created, such as Souderton apparel or merchandise.