Whether you ask a swimmer or a football player, most athletes will argue that their sport is the most expensive, but what factors contribute to the ranging costs of sports?
Almost all sporting teams on campus require athletes to purchase their own durable and productive equipment, but many have disguised costs.
“Every little thing about golf is not free, not even the grass… you have to pay to go,” golfer Jenyne Ebreo said. “Los Verdes is free to chip and putt, but your clubs, those cost money.”
Money is an essential resource for golfing, though this subject isn’t limited to the golfing community.
Costs weave themselves into sports whether it be in the form of fees, equipment or healthcare.
“Physical therapy is quite common. I had to do it constantly [because of] an injury,” water polo athlete Rachel Smart said.
In many cases physical therapy can enhance an athlete’s performance despite them not facing any pressing injuries.
“Swimmers get massages or suctioning to get the lactic acid – the substance that causes your body to fatigue, out of their body before [swim] meets,” swimmer Hillary Nguyen said.
In addition to the physical demand and time commitment that school sports require, some further immerse themselves with non-institutional athletic organizations putting an additional strain on their pockets.
“With a club team, it costs a lot just to swim in a pool along with other factors of equipment like swimming gear, suits – that sometimes cost $200-500, goggles that will cost $70-100, or caps that cost $30 even though they may look like plastic,” Nguyen said.
When the sporting equipment is employed frequently at such high intensity, they become stressed and worn down of their productivity.
“A suit that costs $500 will probably last a meet or a couple races before the benefits that come with it go down,” Nguyen said.
To the relief of athletes, there are programs to help alleviate the financial stress which comes with sports.
“Southern California Swimming has a program called Outreach which allows swimmers to pay one set price. For meets we always have to pay a fee, and then along with each event costs more money, but because of the Outreach program, when families apply for it, they only have to pay one set price and it does lower the cost a bit for those families,” Nguyen said.
In contrast to the financial aspect of sports, the benefits athletes reap from sports is enough to justify the cost for many students at PV.
“On some of my gloomiest days, coming into practice will leave [me] with the biggest smile,” Nguyen said.