Winter athletes lead charge for more spectator support

Winter athletes lead charge for more spectator support

Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s varsity swim team hosted a meet against Shepaug Valley High School on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Shepaug’s team was notably larger, putting forth four relay teams to Housatonic’s one relay team.

Riley Klein

At Housatonic Valley Regional High School, winter brings packed bleachers, ecstatic student sections, and distinctive energy for basketball season. The team culture and overall energy result in a large turnout at the home games. But beyond basketball, other winter athletes endure long practices and tough competitions — often with far less recognition.

While basketball tends to draw large crowds and headlines, sports like swim, ski, indoor track, and hockey compete in front of much smaller audiences. Other than the students directly involved, many people in the school community are unaware of when these teams compete, who their standout athletes are, and how they perform throughout the season.

Part of the difference in involvement comes down to location and the nature of the sports themselves. “It’s much easier to walk into the gym than it is to walk onto a ski course,” athletic director Anne MacNeil said. Basketball is a team oriented sport played in the school gym, making attendance easy. New traditions like rival night and themed games also increase excitement. MacNeil explained that when the ice hockey team used to compete at Hotchkiss, the games were widely attended. Many winter sports are also more individual based, making it harder to build hype around one race or run than a team competition.

Beyond the challenge of drawing spectators, the teams themselves are also limited in size. Housatonic’s small enrollment contributes to smaller rosters, especially in nontraditional sports. Cost and access also make some winter sports harder for students to become involved with. “You have to be introduced to skiing. You have to be introduced to hockey,” MacNeil said. “If you look at what it takes to play those sports, there’s a money factor involved.”

For the swim team, the difference in team culture is notable. Senior Katie Crane played basketball her freshman year before fully committing to the swim team. “When I played basketball, we weren’t just showing up for our team, we were showing up for the student section too,” she said. “For swim, what fueled our energy was just the team itself.”

Riley Klein

Swim meets rarely draw big crowds, but some competitors said that reduced the pressure. “I love swim because there isn’t that competitiveness and pressure,” Crane said. “I just showed up and I would race, but I was racing for myself.” Swimmers said their teammates and coaches were supportive, even if a big audience wasn’t there to cheer them on.

The lack of visibility can also be frustrating. “It definitely feels like I put up big performances without it getting noticed because I made Berkshire League first team and no one knows,” freshman Phoebe Conklin said. “For basketball and soccer, it’s this huge deal when you make first team.”

The ski team faces similar struggles. “It’s actually a fun spectator sport,” said junior Danny Lesch. Because races are largely individual, standout performances don’t always translate into team wins, even though the team has many accomplished athletes. Lesch said the individual athletes then get less recognition despite high levels of personal success. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that probably the most successful students we have at their sport have been our best skiers,” Lesch said.


dWinter Cheney sports three gold medals after a victorious performance in the Berkshire Hills Ski League championships Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Despite the recognition gap between basketball and other winter sports, athletes and community members have recently made larger efforts to improve visibility. “That’s always been an area that I have struggled to do better in,” MacNeil said. “In the last two years, I’ve really focused on our Instagram account and trying to spotlight people.” While trying her best to equally represent each sport, MacNeil also relies on athletes themselves to send photos and stats. “I can’t be everywhere at once,” she said.

Looking ahead, the future of other sports at Housatonic may depend on overcoming challenges tied to the school’s small enrollment. “I just had to cancel girls’ lacrosse,” MacNeil said. Increasing visibility and community support can help keep teams active and competitive. Greater recognition can help spark student interest, increasing participation and reminding the community that success exists across sports with less publicity. For members of the ski team, even small efforts can help make a difference. “What we hope for is one of the races next year, we get a crowd, get people to come, just one race,” Lesch said.

Latest News

A new life for Barrington Hall

A new life for Barrington Hall

Dan Baker, left, and Daniel Latzman at Barrington Hall in Great Barrington.

Provided

Barrington Hall in Great Barrington has hosted generations of weddings, proms and community gatherings. When Dan Baker and Daniel Latzman took over the venue last summer, they stepped into that history with a plan not just to preserve it, but to reshape how the space serves the community today.

Barrington Hall is designed for gathering, for shared experience, for the simple act of being together. At a time when connection is often filtered through screens and distraction, their vision is grounded in something simple and increasingly rare: real human connection.

Keep ReadingShow less

Gail Rothschild’s threads of time

Gail Rothschild’s threads of time

Gail Rothschild with her painting “Dead Sea Linen III (73 x 58 inches, 2024, acrylic on canvas.

Natalia Zukerman

There is a moment, looking at a painting by Gail Rothschild, when you realize you are not looking at a painting so much as a map of time. Threads become brushstrokes; fragments become fields of color; something once held in the hand becomes something you stand in front of, both still and in a constant process of changing.

“Textiles connect people,” Rothschild said. “Textiles are something that we’re all intimately involved with, but we take it for granted.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Sherman Players celebrate a century of community theater

Sherman Players celebrate a century of community theater

Cast of “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” from left to right. Tara Vega, Steve Zerilli, Bob Cady (Standing) Seated at the table: Andrew Blanchard, Jon Barker, Colin McLoone, Chris Bird, Rebecca Annalise, Adam Battlestein

Provided

For a century, the Sherman Players have turned a former 19th-century church into a stage where neighbors become castmates, volunteers power productions and community is the main attraction. The company marks its 100th season with a lineup that blends classic works, new writing and homegrown talent.

New England has a long history of community theater and its role in strengthening civic life. The Sherman Players remain a vital example, mounting intimate, noncommercial productions that draw on local participation and speak to the current cultural moment.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Reimagining opera for a new generation

Reimagining opera for a new generation

Stage director Geoffrey Larson signs autographs for some of the kids after a family performance.

Provided

For those curious about opera but unsure where to begin, the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington will offer an accessible entry point with “Once Upon an Opera,” a free, family-friendly program on Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m. The event is designed for opera newcomers and aficionados alike and will include selections from some of opera’s most beloved works.

Luca Antonucci, artistic coordinator, assistant conductor and chorus master for the Berkshire Opera Festival, said the idea first materialized three years ago.

Keep ReadingShow less
BSO charts future amid leadership transition and financial strain

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Provided

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is outlining its path forward following the announcement that music director Andris Nelsons will step down after the 2027 Tanglewood season, closing a 13-year tenure.

In a letter to supporters, the BSO’s Board of Trustees acknowledged that the news has been difficult for many in its community, while emphasizing gratitude for Nelsons’ leadership and plans to celebrate his final season.

Keep ReadingShow less
A tradition of lamb for Easter and Passover

Roasted lamb

Provided

Preparing lamb for the observance of Easter is a long-standing tradition in many cultures, symbolizing new life and purity. For Christians, Easter marks the end of Lenten fasting, allowing for a celebratory feast. A popular choice is roast lamb, often prepared with rosemary, garlic or lemon. It is traditional to serve mint sauce or mint jelly at the table.

The Hebrew Bible suggests that the last plague God inflicted on the Egyptians, to secure the Israelites’ release from slavery, was to kill the firstborn son in every Egyptian home. To differentiate the Israelites from the Egyptians, God instructed them to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb. Today, Jews, Christians and Muslims generally believe that God would have known who was Israelite and who was Egyptian without such a sign, but views of God’s omnipotence in the Abrahamic faiths have evolved over the millennia.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.