Table of Contents
The beginning of high school fall sports tryouts is just over three weeks away. The date that coaches and athletes alike have circled on their calendars is Monday, Aug. 24, the first official day of practice.
But for those athletes still wishing to play fall sports, and haven’t completed the necessary registration form, time is running out. That deadline is Aug. 17, which is only a little bit more than two weeks away.
The Winchester High School Athletic Department, under the direction of its new Director of Athletics Wayne Puglisi, offers a variety of fall sports activities to pique the interest of many. Those offerings include cheerleading, boys and girls cross-country, field hockey, football, golf, boys and girls soccer, girls swimming and girls volleyball.
But before any student-athlete can suit up for these sports, the following requirements must be met:
1. All students must ensure that the Athletic Department has a copy of a valid physical exam. Physicals are good for 13 months from the date of the exam. Student-athletes with expired physicals will not be permitted to participate in any manner until a valid physical is turned in.
2. Parent/guardian and the student-athlete must have completed an online concussion course in the past 12 months. The free course may be found here.
3. Student-athletes must complete a baseline concussion exam through SportGait. These exams are valid for two years. But this testing is optional for golf, cross-country and girls swimming.
4. The Winchester School Committee voted to establish new user fees for student-athletes. The fee is $675 per student per sport with a family cap of $2,025. Payments should be made no earlier than Aug. 31, and no later than Sept. 4.
No student-athlete will be denied the opportunity to play due to financial hardship. In cases of family financial hardship, a fee reduction or waiver may be granted by the WPS Business Office in accordance with the school committee’s policy.
To learn more about the policy and how to apply, check out www.winchesterps.org/financial-assistance.
All requests must be submitted by Aug. 27 to receive a response before the user fee payment deadline of Sept. 4 at 3 p.m. Any questions about the waiver request form, contact the WPS Business Office.
5. The entire online registration must be completed and completed by a parent/guardian. Again, ArbiterSports registration, physical exam and baseline test must be up-to-date and submitted by Monday, Aug. 17, at 3 p.m. in order to be eligible for the first day of practice on Aug. 24.
Any submissions received after that date, those athletes will not be eligible to practice until Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the earliest.
When registration has been completed, the parent/guardian will receive an email confirmation from ArbiterSports, and will also receive a follow-up email from the athletic department confirming that it has all the necessary paperwork, including paid user fees.
Parents/guardians may review their registrations by logging on to ArbiterSports.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
