Arlington athletics staff updated the School Committee on participation, new unified sports offerings and recent facility upgrades that staff and coaches said are increasing student opportunity and improving training conditions.

Athletics Director John Boller (presenter) reported more than 600 student registrations this fall and roughly 500 students making rosters across 11 programs and 20 teams. He said there were no cut sports this fall for boys and girls cross country, field hockey and football, and that eliminating user fees has contributed to higher participation (Boller said participation is up about 13% since fees were removed).

Boller described the district’s Unified Sports expansion: the Middlesex League ran a Unified Basketball schedule last year and Arlington joined as an official MIA sport this year; the district also offered unified bowling in winter. A Minuteman representative previously had shared examples of hands-on programs and outreach but the athletics presentation focused on inclusive in-district opportunities. Coaches said the unified teams produced visible student enthusiasm: “the smiles on their faces were like, I’ll never forget it,” Boller said of a recent pep rally announcement.

Coaches and staff highlighted facilities improvements: new turf at Lucky Field (baseball/softball) opened Sept. 24 and another turf softball field opened this week. Cross-country and distance coaches said access to turf and improved fields reduces injury risk and allows safer warm-ups and team stretches. Cross-country coach Justin said the boys’ roster has 72 individual finishers this season, an increase over past years, and staff noted larger rosters across distance-running programs.

Committee members asked about cut sports oversight and how tryout decisions are made. Boller said coaches typically discuss evaluations, use rubrics for skills/coachability and added assistant coaches this year to increase evaluators at tryouts; parents may request follow-up meetings if they want more detail on a roster decision. The committee praised the unified program and the new fields but flagged that rising high-school enrollment will create future demand for teams and space.