On Pricey Sports Uniforms

By: Anna Donaldson

When we talk about uniforms, we usually talk about representing our school, our shared values, and equality. What do our hypocritical sports uniforms say about our school?

As a disclaimer, my intention in writing this is not to complain about high prices but to start a conversation and call for more transparency between administrators and students at school.

The start of this year’s sports season saw students ranting about insanely priced sports uniforms. Upwards of $60 for a (mostly) opaque top and $30 for a netball skirt (without shorts attached, might I add). My softball uniform was $123 this year.

Why all this fuss? Don’t we already have uniforms? These puzzling uniform policies point to larger, school-wide issues with sustainability, how we talk about money, and the lack of discourse between administrators and students. I’d like to open this conversation up by discussing how the issues with sports uniforms are a microcosm of broader contentions that bar us from living up to our values.

I understand that these uniform changes began during the 2021-22 academic year, when we first partnered with New Balance. During this partnership, our uniforms underwent a redesign and a supply shift. Thus, prices rose and students had to change uniforms, irrespective of the state of their current ones.

However, the only explanation I was given was that sourcing our uniforms sustainably would incur an exorbitant cost, with high-quality fabric and all that jazz. I don’t buy it. Would it not be more sustainable to just use the same uniform from last year instead of fuelling mass consumerism for a uniform only worn for one season? For a school that prides itself on both its sustainability and sports programs, our uniforms do remarkably little to deliver the image being sold.

The persistent gap between our values and actions toward sustainability crops up everywhere. All the way from perpetual groans about Veggie Wednesday to No Drive Day, where parents drop students off at the HDB to walk into school, receive a banana, and proceed to get a Grab car home in the afternoon. It is clear our community has a problem executing its commitment to sustainability.

Looking back on the controversial price tags, I acknowledge that within this community, most of us are incredibly well off in financial terms. So buying these uniforms, technically speaking, shouldn’t be the problem. However, just because the school can afford to keep the prices high and we can afford it doesn’t mean we should. I don’t see why there should be an innate correlation between the two if we aren’t given any compelling justification for the price. For crying out loud, this is a school! Should we not be thinking critically about this?

Moreover, the notion that everyone from our school is extremely well off is not only untrue but one of many stereotypes that need to be corrected (that’s an essay for another day). It lumps everyone under the umbrella of our school’s most privileged, therefore neglecting to realize the economic diversity within our community. A lot of Dover families may have cars, but a large percentage don’t. We don’t all live in the same house, and not all our parents have the same job or income. Could we please stop pretending that we all come from identical socioeconomic backgrounds?

I believe there are ways to mitigate this problem. One solution is dismantling our taboo around discussing money. Whether it is culturally ingrained in us to value politeness over open discourse or guilt over our privilege, our lack of constructive discourse is perpetuating the presumption that everyone’s situation is identical when it isn’t. By being more open about talking prices of sports uniforms and trips, we can begin to create a space where more than one perspective can thrive. We can live up to our reputation of a campus that cultivates and encourages diversity.

Finally, I would like to call for greater transparency. As consumers, we have a right to know why our uniforms cost so much, especially when our admittance to the team is on the condition that we buy such uniforms. One proposal I have is that administrators work with the Sports Council to disclose select financial information in a review at the end of each season. This information would grant us an opportunity to exercise agency during consumption, which ties back to our responsibility of upholding sustainable values as members of this school community. Likewise, this could cement No Drive Day’s goal of empowering students to make more eco-friendly choices, namely not driving to school. I think that these changes could clarify our collective understanding of sustainability and how it relates to our everyday choices.

I’d like to open this uniform issue up for discussion within the student body. I hope we can start dismantling some taboos and generate more open dialogue with school administrators. Let us exercise our critical thinking, question why prices must be so high only a week into the season, and demand answers from those in charge. Even having the financial capacity to do so, I think it is ridiculous to have to pay $123 for a uniform that will only be worn for one season.