By Abijah Hines of Watkins Mill High School’s student newspaper, The Current
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has decided to re-record the pregame announcements after its initial recording fifteen years ago with an added Spanish version. Having been only updated once before, in 2021, the pregame announcements have been an integral part of MCPS. The announcements serve as a way for both the athletes and spectators to know how to conduct themselves at games and to remind everyone that they are there to support and respect the athletes and officials.
In order to do so, students from the Student Athlete Leadership Council (SALC) will be selected to record the pregame announcements. SALC was founded in 2019 with a total of 50 elected members, composed of one male and one female representative from each school. SALC serves as a way to build better academics and sportsmanship while allowing for student athletes to have a district-level voice in their sports. “I believe the voice of a student over the PA system encouraging spirited sportsmanship and spectator safety will be a powerful influence over attendees at games,” said Kathy Green, department of athletics outreach and development coordinator.
Watkins Mill students, including junior Nicolas Harrison and senior Ella Rishell, and Richard Montgomery sophomore Corinne Howard are recording the new announcements today, May 22, 2023. By including people from multiple grades and schools and recording the announcements in different languages, MCPS hopes to show the inclusivity within the community.
One of the intentions of this announcement change is to promote spectator behavior that “should positively support and enhance the experience of student-athletes,” Green added. “Ella and I are representing our school…to promote diversity so that people are more comfortable entering the facilities whether you speak a different language,” Harrison said.
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