Colonia High School has had quite a year with regards to the publicity the sports teams have gotten. The girls’ volleyball team made it to the state quarterfinals and many of the winter sports won state titles. Clearly, the sports teams at CHS have gone above and beyond this year in regards to their accomplishments.
Two teams went beyond expectations this year, achieving state titles. The school celebrated these achievements and state titles. But there is a major difference in the popularity between these sports. A controversial subject arose a few weeks ago between the Competition Cheer team and the Boys’ Basketball team over their state title rings.
Popularity
An argument between these two teams is the popularity and awareness around it. While both teams have accomplished wonderful things, the Competition Cheer team believes that they are not getting an equal amount of publicity for their accomplishments. The Cheer team gained their title a few weeks before basketball, and received an announcement on the loudspeaker the next day. The boys’ basketball team, on the other hand, won with it being broadcasted everywhere, from pictures/videos on social media to the EMT services following their bus home from the game and flashing their lights in celebration.
Rings: who’s paying?
A big discussion regarding the controversy is the state rings that both teams should be receiving for their titles. While the boys’ basketball team are supposedly guaranteed their rings free from the township, the major concern for the comp. girls would be that they have to pay for their rings– a cost which many might not be able to afford.
The rings give students a chance to pridefully show off their accomplishments and are a symbol of the handwork and dedication that athletes put in. Athletes will also have these rings for the rest of their lives– such as our Principal, Mr. Pace, who still wears his basketball ring to this day.
So the question that arose from parents and angry athletes was why does the township only pay for some rings, and not others?
Rumors Cleared
This was, in fact, a rumor. To clear the controversy up, here are the straight facts directly from the administration themselves. When interviewed, Mr. Pace cleared up the discussion and the rumors on the so-called payment by the township. “Paying for the rings is led by the coaches and the players. Personal fundraising is the main part of it.” Pace also cleared up the accusation of the township paying for the rings, especially if it was only for the boys’. “The township has close to nothing to do with the payment,” Pace continued. “They provide us with the option of a banner. The basketball team used that money to pay partially for the rings instead.”
It is clear that the fundraising and payment for the rings is something the coaches and the players need to figure out. The basketball team, for instance, is using the banner money and T-shirt fundraising sales to help pay for their rings. Coach Rodriguez is also talking with two different ring vendors to gain the best possible price. Players of the basketball team hosted a fundraising Shoot Around Tournament and ran two apparel sales to raise the funds for the rings which will cost over $200 per ring from Jostens. Coach Simkovich declined to comment about the ring situation for the cheerleaders. Currently, the cheerleaders are individually footing the bill for their rings since no fundraisers have been put into motion.
While the ring situation just needed to be clarified by the administration, there is still a lot of controversy between popularity and publicity among sports. It stands to reason that no matter what sport it is, or how popular the sport is among the school, there should be an equal amount of advertising and celebration for their achievements.
