Booster Parents

It is the stated goal of the Athletic Department to be clear, accurate, and forthcoming with information pertaining to HWRHS athletics to all its constituents.  Among the most critical of these constituents are the parents and families of student-athletes.  Therefore, in order to achieve our stated goal we ask that Booster Parents support and encourage the following guidelines:

1. Practice Schedules:  Head Coaches will communicate practice schedule to players and families. When there are changes to this practice schedule, Head Coaches should notify Booster Parent and/or parents.  Please forward along any changes from Coaches to other families to ensure the information is received.  Please note:  The Athletic Office will no longer communicate or confirm practice schedules.  All questions regarding practice schedules should go to Head Coach.
    
2. Game Schedules, Locations, and Directions:  Game schedules will be posted on the HWRHS Athletic web site (under "Game Schedules").  There are GPS Friendly Addresses to all CAL and Non League contests within the MaScores website.
   
   When there are changes to a Game Schedule, the Athletic Office will communicate the change to the Head Coach and the Booster Parent, who should  in turn let other families know about the change.  In addition, the Athletic Office will Tweet the updated schedule information.  
    
3. Special Events, Team Fundraising Requests, General Team Requests from Parents: The Athletic Director and Booster Parents should discuss details relating to Senior Days, Break-Up Dinners, in season special events, and all Fundraising ideas to ensure there are no conflicts or overlap of dates, times, facilities, and programming with other District constituents and / or with other Teams. 

The purposes and goals of Fundraising through the Booster Parents are as follows:

1.  Reduce the costs of User Fees.

2.  Reduce costs associated with End of Season break-up dinners and their related Awards.

3.  Assist in purchasing of special (capital) equipment or for the team.

4. If desired, Booster Groups can fund a .5 or Full Time Assistant Coach in their Program.  This request should be submitted to the Athletic Department so that the request can go before the School Committee. 

Guidelines for Fundraising are as follows:

• Prior to any fundraising activity, the Booster Parent should speak with the Head Coach and other families in the program in order to agree the goal of the fundraising event (i.e. how the money will be spent) as well as what type of fundraising initiative the group is planning.  The plan and goal for funds would then be brought to the Athletic Office for approval. Please note:  Large and/or Capital items also need the approval of the Principal. 
   
• Coaches should not be involved with fundraising events for their team and cannot be voting members of a Booster's organization. 
   
• Items that will be kept by Student-Athletes and the conclusion of the season should be purchased directly by the Booster Parent.  Please note: These bills cannot be directed to HWRHS or HWRSD and its related addresses. HWRHS will not pay such items.
   
• Items that will stay with the program following the season should be purchased by the Athletic Office.  Please contact the Athletic Office in these cases and we will guide you through the ordering process.
   
• Raffles with cash rewards or large ticket items cannot be held unless the Booster Club has a 501-3C Not for Profit/ Tax exemption status.  These exemptions can be acquired through an application found at the IRS in Andover, MA.  Once the exemption and paperwork are on file in the Athletic Office, Booster Clubs can hold such raffles.
   
• Absolutely no money raised through a booster program can be used to fund mandatory or optional out of season activity for any sport (Excluding team break-up gatherings). 

• At no time can a student collect or hold money for fundraising initiatives or when ordering option team gear. 
   
• Any time students will be responsible for the sale of any goods or completion of services in regards to a team fundraising activity, the "Fundraising Application" Form (found within the 'Athletic Forms and Handbooks' link) should be filled out and submitted to the Principal for review.   
   
• Process to Fund an Assistant Coach:  All programs have the opportunity to fund a .5 or Full Time Coach in their program.  After raising the funds to support this, Booster Parents will write a letter to the School Committee requesting to make a donation for the purpose of funding this position.  If the School Committee chooses to accept this donation for this purpose, the coach will be hired through the standard District hiring process. 
   
• Process to create an Advertisement Book and/or Post Temporary Signage at home contests:  All programs have the opportunity to create an Advertisement Book and / or post temporary signage at home contests.  Booster Parents will write a letter to the School Committee requesting the ability to produce an Ad Book or post temporary signs at home games.  A list of possible companies that will donate should be part of this letter as should past examples of what this would look like.

Values associated with Good Sportsmanship come from a community wide focus that establishes a culture of excellence in all areas.  Though the vast majority of Hamilton-Wenham fans will consistently root for and encourage our teams, there are times when fans step out of line.

There will be a Site Manager assigned to most, if not all home, varsity contests and a reasonable number of home, sub-varsity contests.  During these times, the site manager will keep a close eye on the behavior of all fans in attendance.  For those times when a Site Manager is not present either at home or in the likely event of not being present at another team’s facility, Booster Parents are asked to help remind fans of all ages to remember the goals associated with educational athletics.