Dance if you want, but leave your shoes behind
It’s OK for basketball or volleyball players to wear their shoes in the gym, but students are being asked to leave their shoes behind when Saturday’s homecoming dance takes place in the gym.
September 23, 2015
Students who attend the homecoming dance this year will need to leave their shoes in the car on Saturday before walking in the doors, in accordance with a newly established policy.
In the past, faculty members and parent volunteers have provided students labelled brown bags for students to store their shoes before they take the dance floor to avoid damage to the school floors. However school administration hopes to expend less resources this year by eliminating the need for shoe storage all together.
“The purpose is actually two-fold,” assistant principal Phil Brown said. “High-heeled shoes do not have much traction on the gym floor and, therefore, risks injury to a student. Then, also, the high-heeled shoes and the dress shoes can damage the finish of the floor, causing cracks and causing the floor to peel.”
Coaches have likewise expressed worry that the collective damage to the basketball court from repetitive motion is more severe than perceived, particularly from the heeled shoes commonly worn. With floorboard repair costs particularly expensive, the new policy hopes to minimize if not eliminate possible damage.
“When our athletes are trying to perform, we don’t want them to be injured,” basketball coach Kristin Binyon. “We don’t want the floor getting scuffed up or chipped as it could impede the basketball players’ ability to perform. They go to dribble the ball and it’s not the court they’re used to dribbling on.”
While some students don’t care too much about the policy one way or another, others worry that having to change shoes or not bring any at all may conflict with their plan for the night.
“I think [the policy] is kind of ridiculous,” senior Derrica McDowell said. “It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense and it could ruin a lot of people’s plans.”
Prior to being held in the cafeteria, the 2012 Homecoming dance was held in the cafeteria with shoe storage available for students. Administration moved the location of the dance to the gymnasium for the following year and has consistently held it there since.
“Our population has grown,” Brown said. “Three years ago, we had three to four hundred less students on campus so it’s just about how much space we have available. The gym space is the most conducive for what we need on Homecoming night.”
