For the 2017-2018 school year, the Colonial Athletic Boosters (C.A.B.) along with Student Activities has introduced student sports passes, in which students at Jefferson may use to attend home games, excluding a few special events, for a donation of $25. The passes were introduced in an effort to encourage fans to attend more sports games.

Another sports game pass option that non-students were also eligible to use has been available for donations of $100 or more. However, the passes introduced this year provide a more affordable option, as they allow students to attend most home games that would otherwise cost $5 per game.

“The Boosters have been exploring affordable options for parents to join the Colonial Athletic Boosters to support the TJ Athletic Program and at the same time increase parent and student participation.,” director of Student Activities Rusty Hodges said. “In the past they were more expensive, and [allowed] preferential parking and preferential seating, but [after construction] the parking lot is not longer available for preferential parking.”

There has been a noticeably strong attendance to many sports games so far.

“We had a strong attendance to the first two football games and I know there has been a consistent crowd of fans at volleyball games,” Colonial Athletic Booster co-president Brian Becker said.

Senior Vivian Gruendel owns a pass, and uses it to coordinate visits to games.

“I have one, plenty of my [volleyball] teammates have them, plenty of my friends have them, we like going to football games on Fridays,” Gruendel said. “[Having a pass] just makes it easier to consider coming to games [and] it makes it easier for me and a lot of my friends to plan.”

However, some sports teams, including JV field hockey, have not seen an increase in game attendance. Coach Allie Ivener hopes that other events put on by the team will draw more students to games.

“We have a Play for a Cure game coming up, and are hopeful that will bring more fans. [Having fans present] makes a huge difference in energy,” Ivener said.

As the year progresses, C.A.B. and Student Activities aim for more students to attend games during all seasons, and recognize the commitment Jefferson’s athletes have put into their sports.

“Our athletes and coaches work very hard thorougout the fall, winter and spring seasons, and they really appreciate fan support at their games and competitions” Hodges said.

Becker believes that supporting sports teams is a way for students to engage in Jefferson’s culture outside of the classroom.

“Attending the games is a great way for the students more focused on the academics at T.J. to see another side of the school experience,” Becker said. “Hopefully, it will even encourage more students to play sports in the future.”