A topic that has often been disregarded is the funding within the athletic program here at Wilmington Friends. The funding differences between the sports at Friends has started to become an issue, but is one that has not been discussed or addressed appropriately. The conversation comes into the spotlight a few times a year in the student body, through conversations and debates between friends, but not much more than that. Some WFS student-athletes find this unfair, but the barrier starts to become “boys versus girls”. This situation within the athletic program at WFS has been brought to attention and many students believe the topic must be further considered.

A popular time where the topic of a gap in funding comes to light is in the fall sports season. Some students feel as though the football team has precedence over the other sports, while others do not see it that way. This is especially controversial when the football team takes coach buses to away games. A member of the football team, Chris Wallace ’17, comments, “We usually get the coach buses for two main reasons. The amount of stuff we need is a lot more than any other sport, so we need a lot of room to bring all of our equipment. Also, we sometimes have to travel long distances for some games, like when we went to Sidwell Friends, so sitting on a school bus for almost 3 hours with over 40 guys wouldn’t be the best time.” Another football player, Dalton Ramsey ’18, adds, “It’s really good for when we have away games that are farther away. The team needs a lot of space because we have a lot of guys which means a lot of equipment.” From the vast majority of the football team’s perspective, the issue around the coach bus are much more justifiable than others make it out to be. Lena Urick ’17, agrees: “I think some sports take priority over others, but most of the issues that people see with the funding for the football team actually make sense.”

It is a tough situation to try to resolve because football is inclined to need more funding for equipment, and to be able to accommodate so many people and other necessities, so the goal is to aim to find a middle ground. Jayna Jones ’17, remarks, “There probably is a [funding] gap… Some of the funding variations have a purpose, but there are also other areas where it could be balanced out.”

Another time the topic comes up is in the winter sports season. An additional instance where there is speculated to be a funding gap is between the men and women’s basketball teams, the issue mainly pertaining to the gyms and locker rooms.

One of the captains of the girls basketball team, Margaret Sullivan ’17, comments on the gyms: “Playing in the West Gym is a lot better – the floors are less slippery, there are scoreboards on both sides, and there is a sound system with speakers.” When looking into either gym, West and East, it is clear which of the two is superior. A player on the boys basketball team, Donovan Aldridge, ’18 observes, “The West Gym definitely seems to be the more popular of the two. I don’t think that the boys varsity or JV played in the East Gym all season. Also, in the West Gym, the rims are better, there are two scoreboards, there are speakers, and the floors get waxed more often, while the East Gym doesn’t.”

In regard to the the locker rooms, Jones ’17 explains, “Both of the girls’ locker rooms are in bad shape at the moment. During the basketball season, we would try to have halftime talks, but it would take an extra minute or so to actually get the door shut because the tiles are popped up right where the door is. We would have to struggle with the door rather than focusing on the game.”

Head coach of the girl’s basketball team, Carolyn Conners, says, “Although WFS has come a long way, there remains a discrepancy between how the girls’ athletic teams and the boys’ athletic teams are viewed, treated, and handled. Have you seen the girls’ locker room? The finger should be pointed at ourselves as a community, because we should not just assume and therefore accept that the girls should be relegated to the “lesser” gym, or a dilapidated locker room that visiting teams have refused to use. Hopefully by talking about these issues, it will raise awareness and start steps towards change.”

The question of whether there is a funding gap within the athletics program here at Friends has been raised by many students and even coaches. It cannot be pointed out as simply the girls teams complaining anymore; it is a schoolwide conversation that needs to be brought to the front line of the WFS athletic program. The issue has been discussed student-to-student, but now it must be student to faculty.