Anaya Cherry ’18: Episcopal’s rigorous athletics program is one of the powerhouse programs in the area. The time and dedication of athletes, families, and coaches have given the program its great reputation. But, why do we not have Volleyball teams? Why don’t we have a sailing team as well?
Sailing and volleyball have been popular interests amongst students at Episcopal. Director of Athletics, Regina Buggy noted, “For a school of our size, we have a lot of teams. At some point in time, you have to decide how many athletes you can efficiently, effectively, and productively accommodate. How many sports can you have that generate enough interest, line enough competition, have enough practice space, etc.”
In terms of sailing, there is a lot of thought that comes into the sport’s place in the athletics program. “I believe that EA doesn’t have a sailing team because of the lack of interest along with the long travel time down to the river,” said Jack Brown ’17. “By the time school ends and you head down to the river, you won’t have much practice time on the river prior to sunset,” Kelsey Slack ’17 commented, “Sailing’s not really a common sport. There’s more of a commute and there’s more work to be done with it rather than having facilities here on campus.” Slack and Brown are both very accomplished sailors, competing in local, regional, and national regattas. “I think that the student athletes would benefit…if the sports were added. EA can become even more diverse than it already is,” Brown added. “I also think that the students can learn how to sail, which would be very cool since sailing is a lifetime sport.”
DEFENSE!: Julia Madey ’16 propels herself into the air to block an opponent’s shot in club volleyball..
Photo courtesy of Kathy Madey
On the other hand, the possibility of a volleyball team has been tossed around for the past few years. “Currently, Episcopal has 5 girls’ sports in the fall, and adding a sixth sport could be a stretch,” Buggy stated and went on to say that, “To get a volleyball team competitive and up-and-running, it would also take a few years.” Episcopal’s campus size may seem to fit the spaces and needs for a team, but there is more to adding the sport.
However, Julia Madey ‘16 asserted that, “Every other school has a team, and even for Agnes Irwin day, we get annoyed because they don’t have water polo, but they get annoyed because we don’t have volleyball.” Madey plays on a club team outside of school and chooses to contract out for the sport. “If volleyball was added, it would’ve definitely changed my high school career. It’s a sport that I love, and having it at school would’ve made the experience even better.”
Clearly, Episcopal Academy athletics is always open to the idea of adding new teams, but it’s hard to know what will create the right circumstances for sailing and volleyball athletes to represent their school.