Here it’s $5 for students to watch sports like soccer and softball.
It’s sad because there are very few students there cheering on their friends vs when I was in high school. I was told the state body controls this.
Curious if this happens in other places.
Nope.
Nope. Never heard of that.
Yeah, and when I was in HS there was a small fee, too. Both my HS and where I currently work had/ have “activity passes” that are good for everything except playoff games (state mandated fees).
I was told the state body controls this.
I find that part to be strange. I know that the state athletic associations have control over the playoffs and charge for entry to those events (a primary source of their revenue), and the schools can’t do anything to alter that.
Similarly, at many colleges the students can watch non-ticketed events for free (or it is considered covered by student fees) but then they have to pay once it is an NCAA Tournament game.
I am not familiar with a state association forcing a fee for regular season games.
Care to share the state?
The high school in my town only charges admission for football games during the regular season, but not for students, they get in free. For post season games, the state sets the rules and there are admission charges for anyone, but student pricing is cheaper than the general public. This is true for most sports, with a few exceptions.
I was told the state body controls this.
I find that part to be strange. I know that the state athletic associations have control over the playoffs and charge for entry to those events (a primary source of their revenue), and the schools can’t do anything to alter that.
Similarly, at many colleges the students can watch non-ticketed events for free (or it is considered covered by student fees) but then they have to pay once it is an NCAA Tournament game.
I am not familiar with a state association forcing a fee for regular season games.
Care to share the state?
This is the same for our state (NJ). Some post season or county playoff games have a small fee that is dictated by the state athletic board. All other games are free to attend and I think there would be a massive uproar if anyone tried to charge spectators for regular games.
I teach and coach in Passaic County, NJ. I have coached about 65 seasons of various sports (soccer, XC, swim, track and field), so this is a rare topic I know a lot about.
State tournament games are in fact controlled by the state association (the NJSIAA) and they CAN charge for events, but do not always. It is certainly plenty common.
County tournaments (which are often a big deal in NJ) are governed by the COUNTY association. These too often charge, but it depends on the sport, and may just be for finals in sports like basketball and soccer. Early round games, or sports that don’t get much attention may not charge at all.
Regular season games are at times dictated by a given league/conference, or the school itself.
*My school does NOT charge current students for HOME events unless the state mandates it.
A lot of this comes down to:
So long story short, it kind of differs all over in this part of NJ, but being charged is certainly not uncommom.
I think it can be sport dependent. It was $5 to watch daughter’s HS volleyball games, home or away.
Son’s HS hockey games were free to watch.
Never watched a HS football game, but I think there was a nominal charge.
Soccer games were free.
It’s Colorado.
I can’t find anything that backs up what I was told- but it seems to at least be at the district level with very consistent $6 general
Admission and $5 students - as I see it referenced on district web sites.
Looks like you can buy a family pass for $165 - but it doesn’t cover away games or post season play.
Makes sense if it’s a private school. Public school for crowd control, but can be economic discrimination . Rather for crowd control, students with higher GPA should get in free. parents pay.
Yes, and they’re starting to do it for every sport, even XC. It is pretty depressing when you have to pay to go and support your friends. I have no problem with adults having to pay, but the students should get in free.
I teach and coach in Passaic County, NJ. I have coached about 65 seasons of various sports (soccer, XC, swim, track and field), so this is a rare topic I know a lot about.
State tournament games are in fact controlled by the state association (the NJSIAA) and they CAN charge for events, but do not always. It is certainly plenty common.
County tournaments (which are often a big deal in NJ) are governed by the COUNTY association. These too often charge, but it depends on the sport, and may just be for finals in sports like basketball and soccer. Early round games, or sports that don’t get much attention may not charge at all.
Regular season games are at times dictated by a given league/conference, or the school itself.
*My school does NOT charge current students for HOME events unless the state mandates it.
A lot of this comes down to:
So long story short, it kind of differs all over in this part of NJ, but being charged is certainly not uncommom.
Off topic, but fuck the NJSIAA for getting rid of the Tournament of Champions. Post season games (Sectionals and Groups) are now completely meaningless. The whole post-season should be redesigned into a 32 team tournament for the top ranked teams, or something else where the best ranked teams are able to compete against each other.
I was in high school in the early 80s. Admission was charged to football, basketball, and soccer.
Students (home and away) and kids no
Adults yes for football and basketball (and you can join the booster club and get a season pass for like 20 bucks or something). I think every other sport is free
I was very confused when I got charged to see a game at my HS a year or two ago. I’d never been charged before (reunion stuff was free)
I had to ask wife to confirm, but yes students have to pay in our District also. Can’t tell you how much, but It was true for football, volleyball, and track at least. Sports my kids did so I went to them, I worked most event so I rarely paid, and the few times I was not well, I knew the back doors. Except Volleyball, I always had to pay there, cause their was only 1 open door. LOL
Yes, at least for girls soccer games. I assume they charge for some other sports as well (e.g. football, basketball).
When I was in High School you could buy a ticket to a football game for $2. This allowed you out of your last class. Most kids would buy a ticket and go home.
It was a long time go, but when I was in H.S. They charged a dollar or two for students, more for parents or the public, only for events that happened at our school stadium. So, football, soccer, track and field, etc. That was used to offset the cost of maintenance for that facility. No charge for other sports that I can remember.
Yup. Our son’s public middle school charges all events, or you can get a season “event pass”. It’s cheap IIRC, but at same time I feel it’s a bit bullshit for the less attended events. Makes sense if you need to pay for things for large football and basketball events and you get good turnouts. But turning people off to coming to watch other less attended sports is a bit shit if you ask me.
No idea which org handles or dictates the games being “pay”.
For minor stuff not attended well, now you need someone there to collect or verify tickets and manage something that didn’t exist before because it never needed to.