When Aragon sophomores join a sport at school, they are typically excused from physical education during the season and instead attend study hall in the library, a period designed to help athletes balance school with sports. However, unlike other athletic programs, Aragon’s dance team is not included in the athletic study hall program, sparking discussion about how eligibility is determined.
The athletic study hall program was introduced to the district in 2023 after being approved by the school board, and quickly implemented the following year.
“The August before the school year started, [we had] to figure out who would be in,” said athletic director Steve Sell. “We were building the airplane as it was flying a little bit.”
Initially, all sports recognized by the California Interscholastic Federation were included. However, activities like dance and cheer required more discussion, as they are not officially recognized as CIF sports.
CIF governs athletics across California and oversees competitive activities for schools, like competitions in a variety of sports.
“We discussed cheerleading,” Sell said. “Sideline cheer is not a CIF sport… but competitive cheer is.”
Athletic directors across the district met with the superintendent to evaluate which programs not recognized as sports closely resembled them. This was decided based on time commitment and structure.
“[Sideline cheer] practices every day,” Sell said. “So it was decided yes to cheer.”
Although sideline cheer is not a CIF sport, they are allowed to attend study hall because of their daily practices similar to a sport. Dance, however, did not seem to meet the same standard.
“The question was, how often are they practicing?” Sell said. “Do they act like a sport? And it was not to the same degree that cheer does.”
The decision to exclude dance and include cheer in the athletic study hall program went through an official process before being finalized by the school board.
“The assessment the athletic directors gave us was that they don’t practice as often as sideline cheer does,” Sell said. “That’s where we made the distinction.”
Currently, Aragon’s dance team commits several hours each week to rehearsing on top of performing at football games and other school events.
“For dance team, we practice twice a week for two hours,” said junior and dance co-captain Megan Hugo. “Members are expected to practice the dances in their own time as well, so that’s extra time on top of that.”
Despite not being officially recognized as a sport, many dancers feel that their practices are comparable to other sports.
“I’ve always considered dance a sport when we talk about the cardio and exercise that comes out of it,” Hugo said. “ The whole practice, all we do is dance.”
Balancing academics with dance can also prove to be difficult, especially during the season.
“Study hall would really help me,” said sophomore and dance team member Olivia Fe Dutson. “Some weeks I am overloaded with tests and homework and it can be hard to juggle everything.”
Being excused from PE may also help the dancers perform at a higher level during practices.
“I had PE on the days we practiced, so I don’t think I was able to perform my best during practice,” Hugo said. “It sucked.”
While dance team may not practice as frequently as other sports, members still believe that they deserve inclusion in study hall.
“I get that dance team doesn’t practice as much as other sports, but I still feel like we should get study hall,” Fe Dutson said. “It would help me be less stressed all the time and give us all more time to focus on school.”
Although the current policy remains, some members hope that the discussion will be revisited in the future.
“It’s sad to see that dance isn’t recognized as a sport at our school,” Hugo said. “I hope in the future dance team will be given study hall, or at least be valued at the same level as [other sports].”
