Attendance Backs Move to Multiple Days
Pink Arrow’s volleyball and soccer crowds validated the move to their own separate nights for Pink Arrow.
16 September 2024
Justin Scott - Sports Reporter
Not long ago, Pink Arrow was one big crazy day. Assemblies at schools, volleyball and soccer going on at once immediately after school, parents securing seats at the stadium in the morning, and all of that rolling into the football game that night.
The move to having outdoor volleyball on Thursday, soccer on Wednesday, didn’t come without conflicting opinions but ultimately seems to have paid dividends. It was partially implemented last year with soccer playing the night before, but volleyball did play down at the football stadium last year.
There’s no real wrong way to do it. Restaurants had tended to dislike the early games in feedback because less people attended. Attendance was pretty limited as well. This is in part to many people working during the 3:30-5:30 timeslot when these games were taking place. Then again, having everything on one day as originally was intended made for one big special day.
Crowds for both volleyball’s scrimmage and the soccer game had the stands at near capacity, with plenty of spectators standing as well. It’s the type of showcase that each sport yearns for, especially in a world where high school sports has seen attendance dip over the past decade across the country.
Soccer won 8-1 and volleyball did not have a reportable score due to it being a scrimmage.
Volleyball had a unique setup with the outdoor court set up on the all-purpose North Athletic Complex field. Volleyball under the lights proved to be popular, sitting in that evening time slot after a typical 9-5 work schedule, and the stands were packed for the scrimmage, including the student section which was vocal throughout the volleyball scrimmage played against Traverse City Central.
Tennis also got into the excitement playing a home match last week in their Pink Arrow shirts while Cross Country also took their Pink Arrow shirts to Riverside on Friday for a jamboree, though not running in them of course.
Outside of their individual days, each sport got the same treatment as football. Honorees for each team, pink decoration in and outside the stadium, and special pink jerseys made by Adidas (volleyball) and RaizedUp (soccer). This has been consistent with Pink Arrow games in the past.
