After a long year of hard work, the varsity athletes at Haldane celebrated their achievements at the High School Varsity Athletic Awards Night on June 4, thanks to the continued efforts of the Haldane Booster Club. Similar to the academic and arts awards nights, the Varsity Athletic Awards Night provides students with much-deserved recognition for their achievements.
The event includes food and decorations set up for all of the athletes and coaches at Haldane. After starting with a catered meal, guests made their way to the gymnasium, where athletes were honored for their contributions to Haldane.
Luz Bailey, Haldane parent and member of the Booster Club, is a huge part of the organization of the event. She and other volunteers work hard and rely on donations from sponsors as well as the twenty-dollar admission fee for parents and the ten-dollar fee for siblings to fund the evening. Athletes attend the event for free. The volunteers begin work three to four months before the event and spend time securing donations and catering for the event. Additional fundraising that the Booster Club does over the course of the year also goes towards this night—but a majority comes from the admission fees. Any extra money made goes into supporting athletes in various other ways. Bailey stated, “All the coaches [and] JV and varsity athletes go in for free. It’s our way to thank our coaches for providing a great year for our athletes and supporting them.” In addition to the catering, the money also goes toward small gifts for all the athletes, especially the seniors, to celebrate their dedication to Haldane Athletics.
Along with celebrating athletes’ achievements, the awards dinner also serves as a great way for students to end their season. For many athletes, especially those who play during the spring season, the last game can be emotional, as seniors are ending their Blue Devil career. At awards night, students get to interact not only with their own team but also with athletes who play other sports. Of this intermingling, Bailey said, “We all want to achieve excellence in the sport we love. I love to see the football kids hanging out with the golf kids.”
Varsity Awards Night has been modified over the years, but ultimately, the goal of bringing athletes together has remained the same, no matter what. High School principal Julia Sniffen stated, “When sports came back after COVID, we started with only the athletes, then the next year we kept it outside but invited parents. This past year, we moved it inside to account for the weather.” Another change that has occurred around the dinner is how it is structured. In the past, there were ceremonies for each of the separate sports seasons, but it has now been changed to encompass all sports. Sniffen said, “It only became bigger when we moved it to the end of the year to have it more as a celebratory event for the kids and celebrate them as much as possible.”
Though the Varsity Sports Awards Night costs money to attend, as opposed to the free Arts Alliance Awards Night and the Academic Awards Night, this additional cost helps the awards night go as smoothly as possible. Freshman Lainey Donaghy, a varsity softball player, said, “I think it was really nice to see everyone get recognized for their achievements. It was great to see so many people supporting athletics, I definitely think it was worth twenty dollars.”
Many parents also felt the admission fee was reasonable. Some parents specifically praised the quality of the food, saying that the ice-cream truck set up outside was a nice treat. Some offered constructive criticism, citing too little food and a slightly empty event space. To fix this, one parent suggested holding the event in the auditorium instead of the big gym.
The awards night helped to bring recognition to the hard work of a large number of students and also provided much-appreciated gifts for coaches and seniors, as well as a fundraiser for the Haldane Booster Club. The Booster Club helps to highlight the time and dedication that Haldane athletes put into this night. The Haldane Varsity Sports Awards Night is a great opportunity for athletes to reminisce about their seasons and connect with their peers.
