The number of students participating in girls and boys water polo and swimming teams have decreased over the last couple of years, PUSD Athletic Director Tyler Small told the Board of Education on June 11.
The drop in participation was highlighted in Small’s end of year athletics report, which also showed significant dips in girls soccer and boys cross country programs. Small said the lack of a local pool — athletes have had to travel to either Laney College or Berkeley High School for practices since 2021 when the pool closed — played a role in the decline, according to feedback from families and coaches.
Small said he hopes the aquatic sports numbers will go back up when the pool re-opens. (Small referenced a December opening for the pool but the city says an opening date is still to be determined. Once construction is complete, currently projected for August, the project will enter a commissioning period that could last six weeks or longer.)
Small said the school district was hosting youth water polo clinics this summer as one way to start building a pipeline for the sport.
Small also noted that beach volleyball was impacted by a lack of local practice courts and the district was continuing to look for an on-campus or local option.
(The reasons behind the drop in girls soccer and boys cross country numbers were not discussed at the meeting.)
Title IX progress highlighted
Small said the district continued to work to ensure an equitable athletic experience for female athletes. A gender equity audit of the high school athletic program in the 2021-22 school year revealed PUSD had come up short in a number of areas, including participation and treatment of its female athletes. The participation gap disappeared in 2024, but more work remained to be done.
Of note this year, Small said, was equal access to the weight room for all athletes and the hiring of two new strength and conditioning coaches. The locker rooms are accessible to all now, tournament opportunities have been expanded, and the game day experience — ie, an operational Snack Shack — has been improved. All Snack Shack operations will be run through the PUSD Athletic Department going forward he said.
Areas of focus and projects for 2025-2026
Small said the district was going to focus on balancing participation on teams at all levels to ensure Piedmont fielded teams that could compete throughout the season. “If we are going to offer a team, numbers must be viable all season,” Small said. Boosting girls water polo and swimming numbers and looking for beach volleyball courts were also priorities, as was making sure teams and coaches had the instructional aides (ie, film projectors) they needed.
Small said the project priorities for next year included increasing seating capacity at the softball and baseball fields, finding prominent locations to display team and individual awards (banners or trophys), and replacing the 20-year-old scoreboard in Binks Gymnasium.