Many students wonder what the difference between sanctioned and club sports are. By definition the difference is that club sports are community based but sanctioned sports are school based. 

Athletes pay to be in the club sport and pay for all of their uniforms, equipment, and games. “In club [lacrosse] there was a very big responsibility put on parents to keep the season going…” said Harrison Winegar, player for the boys’ lacrosse team. 

It may be confusing because we hear about club sports on the announcements, for example the boys’ volleyball team or the hockey team. Even though they are not school-sanctioned sports, they are considered Bingham clubs and have Bingham students playing on them so we want to support everyone.

In contrast, sanctioned sports get school funding and athletes rent their uniforms from the school. They also represent and play for their school. 

Just this past year Bingham added two more sanctioned sports, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse. They went under much change throughout the beginning of last year to be school sanctioned sports. 

“There are more rules as to what you can do, everything needed to be approved. Your fees, swag, fundraisers, tournaments, or any traveling needs to [be] approved,” says Angie Brescia, former girls’ lacrosse coach.

One of the reasons why schools have school sanctioned sports is so that the school is ensured that their student athletes won’t be exploited. Many years ago athletes would go to high profile tournaments and people would bet money on those high school players. These tournaments would be disguised as charity funding and trick many players, while the organizers would steal their money.

Some of the benefits of playing for a sanctioned sport is, “Getting to use the school’s field and equipment…” said Winegar. They will also buy the uniforms and rent them out to the players on the team for the year.

Bingham participates in twenty sports that are sanctioned by the school. Some of the most well known include football, basketball, and baseball. On the other side Bingham has four club-based sports, such as boys’ volleyball club, and hockey club.