By Valentina Platt-Higgins

The Athletics Center at Rye Country Day School offers a range of sports for students across grade levels, shaped by a combination of facilities, league offerings, and student interests. The school regularly evaluates participation to ensure teams have enough players and the right amount of competition with other schools. These evaluations consider team size, skill levels, and available facilities. 

Mr. Curran, Director of Athletics, was not here when the athletic offerings were decided, but explained, “I know that these decisions are based on the facilities that we have access to, sports offered in the leagues we are members of, as well as students’ interests and participation trends over the years.” Mr. Curran said that sports that are not offered may not have fallen in line with those requirements. When selecting what sports to offer at RCDS, Mr. Curran explained, “you always want to make sure you can field a proper team with enough depth, skill and experience to be competitive. Having the proper facilities either on or off campus are important as well.” Sports that do not fit these standards are not added. To decide if there are any sports that are missing and should be added, Mr. Curran has been studying the participation trends in Upper and Middle School sports. So far, he has seen that “we have great athletic participation across the sports that we offer, which is very encouraging. Once this study is complete and flushed out, it would help us determine whether it would be necessary to add other sports.” Mr. Curran’s review of participation as well as the school’s requirements for new teams will determine if there are any additional sports offered.

Piper Maritzen ‘29, a varsity lacrosse athlete, expressed strong opinions as she also participates in sports that are not offered at RCDS. When asked why she believes Rye Country Day should offer more sports, Maritzen said, “I feel there isn’t necessarily a sport for everyone to compete and play in. Some of the teams are either very easy or difficult, so sometimes students don’t play sports at all.” Some of the sports she would like to see added include, “pickleball, gymnastics, rowing, figure skating, swimming , water polo, cycling, skiing, and more.” She thinks that if other schools can offer these sports for their students, RCDS should too. Maritzen added that she believes adding more sports at RCDS would give students more opportunities to try new activities they might otherwise miss out on.

While not every sport can be offered, RCDS continues to make evaluations as to what sports should or should not be offered. Despite there being sports that students would like to see added, with the restrictions and requirements set in place, it will be hard to include them all. Mr. Curran works to maintain the athletics at RCDS full of new opportunities for students, ensuring all students are able to try new things.