Englewood High School senior Ty Lucas plays Volleyball. She knows she and her family will have to pay some fees to take part. She has played for Englewood for four years. This year, she’s made some tough choices because the school district has put “fee to play” in place.

     Englewood High School has implemented a fee for students to play sports, which hadn’t been done in Englewood High School before last year. The fee is $40 per season.

     Many students who play sports had to have a decent GPA . Now they also have a fee to pay online.

     “It’s kind of good,” said Zach Arntson(11), a student who play lacrosse, “because it makes our equipment better, safer, and more fun to play”

     The University of Michigan, on its Poll on Children’s health, showed that “61 percent of children playing middle or high school sports were charged a pay-to-play fee. The average fee was $93, according to the poll respondents, but 21% of children faced a pay-to-play fee of $150 or more.”

     In addition, other school districts around Englewood High School, like Littleton High School, have a fee of about $135. Cherry Creek High School has a fee of $90. According to the Denver post, Adams 12 Five Star schools charge $135.

     Cory Hawk, the new Athletic Director, said that the fee to play was to, “help [pay] the funds from the state that the athletic department might incur”.

     “I think once people get used to it and understand the reason behind it, they might not play, but Free/Reduced lunch will help if they need it” Said Who???

     At first, some students had few problems, but now can have a waived fee due to Free/Reduced lunch, as well as fundraising.

     Student Ty Lucas, said that it had caused her to make a more serious and restrictive choice on what sport she would like to play. “It [fee to play sports] made me figure out what I want to do”