The Reed gym looks like it got a haircut. The golden lochs that hung from the gym’s ceiling, celebrating the school’s league, region/zone and state championship teams, have been buzzed.
When new Athletic Director Ryan Sims took over in July, removing the banners was one of his first calls to action. The 113 banners that were dislodged got in the way of lighting and ventilation, interfered with balls in play and came with a heavy price tag—$400 apiece.
To decide what to do with the banners, Reed High administration, along with the athletic department, will host a forum open to the public, Thursday, Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the school’s theater. Anyone is welcome to attend and voice their opinion for a potential plan.
“Everyone is welcome to express their ideas in moving forward from here,” Sims said. “We want to make sure we are making the best move when we are talking about caring for the banners we took down since there is a lot of tradition in them.”
The original plan once the banners fell was to auction them off but Sims and Reed administration wanted to get input from the community before making any decisions.
Reed and its athletic program is rich in tradition so the teams that earned banners in the gym will still be recognized even though the individual banners are no more. Each sport will get a 4’x8’ banner that will hang on the gym’s walls. Every regional/zone champion and state champion squad will be recognized on the banner by the year of the team’s accomplishment.
The price tag for a sticker is significantly cheaper than an individual banner—$35.
“Just the savings of funds or the opportunity to spend athletic funds are better suited,” Sims said. “Our school is getting a little bit older so we definitely need to better use our funds, improving our fields, maintaining our fields, improving our gymnasiums, maintaining our gymnasiums. We can use that money to go directly back to our kids.
“I do want to emphasize, we can better use these funds instead of spending $400 a banner.”
Those with ideas for the banners are encouraged to attend the forum next Thursday.
“Really what we’re looking for … (is) to decide how we can best care for the banners we currently have,” Sims said. “Creating a plan to move forward is really what we’re trying to do.”
Nathan has covered local sports for The Daily Sparks Tribune since September 2013. Follow him on Twitter: @Trib_Shoup.