Berkeley High School sports are, with some exceptions, free to play. Trying out for teams does not require any fee, and players can borrow sports gear from the school athletic department. On the other hand, club sports for high schoolers all around the Bay Area are often expensive and require big-time commitments and long commutes for players. This affects how accessible sports are for many young people since only those with disposable income are able to afford to play for sports clubs with few exceptions.
Areyto Paredes- Akimoto is currently a junior at BHS, and he has been playing school volleyball since his freshman year. He also plays for Red Rock Volleyball Club in Redwood City. The club generally costs four-to-six hundred dollars a month, along with a mandatory five hundred dollar uniform fee. Last year, Paredes-Akimoto worked at a restaurant in order to pay for the summer club. He feels that club volleyball teams only cater to middle or upper-class players. “The coordination for going abroad for these tournaments is really bad, and they expect the parents to be able to just drop whatever they’re doing for a week to come take their kid to a volleyball tournament in Chicago, which almost all of my friends couldn’t do,” Paredes-Akimoto said.
While most players on the BHS volleyball team play outside of school, Paredes-Akimoto thinks the coaches for BHS have done a good job of giving everyone equal opportunities regardless of whether they play in club teams. “The coaching staff right now at Berkeley High Volleyball is really good and is helping all players, varsity and (junior varsity) get better by some margin, even though it’s only a two-month season,” Paredes-Akimoto said.
BHS junior Benjamin Rivera Pon has played soccer with Eastshore Alliance Football Club since it formed in 2022. However, he hasn’t been playing with his team for the past few months. “I made the team, but my family wasn’t able to pay, so I’ve been trying to find more options for financial aid,” Rivera Pon said. The full price for a season of Eastshore Alliance is around three thousand dollars. Even with assistance, club sports teams in the Bay Area often come with steep prices that many families can’t afford. Rivera Pon feels that wealthier players often have more opportunities. “If you want to go to tournaments and fly places, obviously you need money for that. If you don’t have the money for that you’ll miss out, and get less time playing soccer, which puts you at a disadvantage,” he said.
Crew is a BHS sport that costs money, due to being considered a club sport. While the price is lower than that of rowing clubs in the area, it is still a $200-$495 monthly fee for the 10-month school season. The club does offer need-based “rowerships” for students unable to pay the fee. BHS senior Allison Toan rowed for BHS freshman year, then switched to Oakland Strokes. She believes the high prices affect the demographics of rowers. “I think it definitely makes it so that crew is not a very diverse sport. It costs so much money to participate in,” Toan said.
While she feels BHS crew has a broader range of people than her club, it’s still geared towards wealthier students. “It’s not perfect. It’s not super diverse, but it’s getting there. I think (crew) also tries to make itself accessible by telling people about the sport, and trying to get as many people to join it.” Toan explained.
An obvious component of these high costs for local club sports is the rising prices of living in the Bay Area. These clubs need to have the ability to fully fund equipment, gym/field spaces, and coaches’ salaries, which are funded by donations and memberships.
However, that does not change the serious inequity that costly club sports create. Financial aid for club sports must continue to improve, so the ability to play is not dependent on money.