Any person that has participated in a varsity sport or has even thought for longer than a few minutes on the system by which Tower Hill gives out its varsity letters and pins may find themselves asking, “what in the world is happening?” The system by which Tower Hill assigns pins, bars, and letters can be confusing, to say the least. So, for this article, I’m going to breakdown, as best as I can, how it works.
When a student participates in a varsity sport, they earn themselves either a varsity letter or a pin. If it’s the student’s first time ever participating in a varsity sport, they’re first given a green felt letter in the shape of Tower Hill’s iconic TH. Next, the student, nay athlete, will be given a symbol that is supposed to be representative of their sport. For example, if you’re a part of the volleyball team, you would receive a golden volleyball pin. If you were a part of the basketball team, you would receive a golden basketball pin. The pin would then be attached to your letter where, if you’re like me, you wouldn’t touch it until the next time you need to add another pin. Now, the next year of that same sport would be where it gets a little tricky. For all subsequent years on a varsity team, the athlete would receive a golden bar. This golden bar would be representative of their sport but would not have their sports’ name or symbol anywhere on it.
What adds a whole other layer of confusion to this process is when you start to add multiple varsity sports. Say that the same athlete who participated in volleyball in the fall also plays varsity soccer in the spring, then come the end of their spring season, the athlete would receive a golden soccer ball pin which they could also add to their letter. Then, their next soccer season, they would also add that pin to their letter.
Unlike what 80s shows about high school may tell you, those in varsity sports don’t constantly parade around in their letterman jackets. Actually, Tower Hill doesn’t even provide jackets for the letter. Therefore, what you do with your letter is all up to you. You could just stick it in a random drawer and never look at it. Or, you could put in a frame and proudly present it to the world. Either way, it’s all your choice.
Comments