I’ve been to many WIS games. I’ve seen soccer games, basketball games and a volleyball game. However, like many others, I haven’t been to a tennis, swimming, cross country or golf match even though I know people who participate in those sports who I would like to encourage. So why do so little people come to these sports?

Even though I would like to encourage my fellow WIS students in all sports, I haven’t gone to these matches for a couple of reasons.

One reason why some students don’t go to matches is that they don’t find the sports interesting. For example, a cross country meet can seem a lot less eventful than a soccer or basketball match.

Uneventful games are not the only reason why people don’t go to matches. For “teams like girls tennis or cross country it’s hard to get a lot of support for them because they do their meets and matches off campus whereas the soccer teams and the volleyball teams, they all compete here at school for home matches,” says Mr. O’Mara, the WIS athletics director.

But will WIS provide transportation to these games? According to Mr. O’mara, probably not, since WIS has a bus shortage. However, for big matches, buses might be provided for the supporters.

Has attendance levels always been like this? It has, according to Mr. O’mara. However, “Years ago we had some very good basketball teams in this school. We used to pack the gym up. We had a full house on friday nights. We had good rivalries with other schools. The gym would just be crowded.” These are the attendance levels we’re looking for for almost every match.

The WIS athletes need our support. Even though we might not want to watch these matches, with our support, our athletes will perform better and we have the ability to intimidate the opponent and gain an advantage. With our encouragement, the players can play better and our school’s athletic program will be more successful.

Going to WIS games is also good way to become more involved in the community and make new friends. Going to the games shows a strong community who is ready to face the opponent and destroy anyone in our winning path.

“WIS sports are a fun time to get together as a school and be a community to support a team whether it soccer or basketball or whether it’s cross country, curling, tennis, volleyball… any sport,” said Alex Grossman. So next time you have the opportunity to go to a WIS game, regardless of the sport, remember the contribution you can make to the school by going and go to the game! Make friends, have fun, support the team and support our school.

By Thomas Lanning