Every year, scores of high school students rush to the football fields, volleyball courts, pools, and basketball courts, while other sports teams look out to sparsely populated stands. As I watch parents, students, teachers, and friends hurry to attend more popular sports games and matches, I look out towards the benches adjacent to the tennis courts and see almost no students. I have learned from peers that this experience is shared among students who participate in sports such as cross country, golf, mountain biking, and sailing. However, there is a very simple solution for any sports that take place on the school’s campus.
We have had many tennis matches this season on the home courts, and there was an overall lack of audience. Of course, there are logical reasons why the above-mentioned sports have fewer spectators. Many of the events almost always take place off campus, and many students either don’t have easy transportation access or don’t have enough time in the afternoons to leave campus. Another reason is that these sports are considered less fun to watch, either because of their complicated rules or the fact that spectators are expected to be quiet.
But these justifications for the low turnout are quickly forgotten by the students if one simple thing is present at the sports events: food. Players and their families sometimes bring snacks for both teams, and when other students have come to cheer on the teams they find a pleasant surprise at the snack table, which encourages them to invite more friends. It turns out, food is a huge attraction! Snacks provide players with energy and a nice treat, but they also welcome supporters, other coaches, and whomever else may come to the games. I have noticed that whenever food is brought to our tennis matches, students from San Domenico rush towards the courts and linger for the majority of the matches.
The main issue with having a snack table at every event is the question of who will bring the food. My suggestion would be to set up a rotation so that ideally each student takes a turn supplying the food. Unfortunately, it is trickier to bring in more crowds to sports events that never occur on campus, but bringing snacks for the athletes playing at home is still a very kind gesture.
Food draws in a larger crowd and creates a more fun atmosphere for the athletes, as well as the spectators.
