Recently a new policy was enacted for all Jackson-Reed athletic events which transitioned ticket sales to an online platform, completely replacing paper tickets.
Along with the platform, there are new rules that separate fan sections, limit allowed spectators, and ban the re-entry of spectators. This new policy has prompted mixed reactions from students and athletes.
The use of GoFan Digital Ticketing has created annoyances for some students. Junior Julia Khoury attended a basketball game recently and believes that, “as annoying as it is to carry cash to the games, it’s much more complicated to have to buy [tickets] online.”
She also says that the website for scanning tickets has some problems, noting that in order to scan a pre-purchased ticket, “you have to click a button that says ‘use now,’ but it can’t be clicked until you’re at security about to go in.”
This has made the lines to get through security and into the games significantly slower, creating some difficulties for entry.
By contrast, sophomore Abby Gilbert who attended a basketball game did not have any problems getting in. She did not purchase her ticket beforehand, but when she arrived at the game, she “just used ApplePay to pay for a ticket at the door.” For her, the process was easy and efficient.
This use of online ticket purchasing has made it harder for some people to get to the games, according to Varsity Girls basketball player Sarah Mesikir. She says that since the establishment of the online ticket system, she’s “noticed a change in the stands.”
Before the policy, she says “there used to be a lot of people but there are less now that tickets have to be bought online.” She thinks that people are more likely to come if paying in cash because it’s much more convenient and most people carry it around.
To purchase tickets, spectators can download the GoFan app from the Apple App Store, Google Play, or visit GoFan.co.
On the front page of the website, there is a place to search for a school name, and when a student clicks on “Jackson-Reed High School” a schedule of upcoming sports events appears. Here, it tells users where and when the games are, who Jackson-Reed is playing, and gives a link to purchase tickets.
Tickets are nonrefundable, but they can be transferred to other people.
With this new policy, your phone is your ticket, meaning spectators do not have to carry cash or a paper ticket with them for entry into games.
In addition to the digital ticketing platform, this new policy brings other rules too. Spectators allowed into games have been limited, with only adults or students with adult chaperones being permitted entrance to sporting events.
Each chaperone may only accompany three students and they must sit near the students. Re-entry to games is also now prohibited; once a spectator leaves, they will not be let back in, and no entry is allowed after the third quarter.
Furthermore, separate fan sections have been created, assigning the fans of home and away teams to separate, clearly marked areas. When purchasing tickets on GoFan, students are notified of these policies.
These new policies are required by DCIAA, the sports league administered by DCPS athletics, so every DC public school shares these rules. Many of these same rules were enacted during the high school football season in the fall.
With DCIAA’s announcement of this policy, it was said that those rules will continue to be enforced while the new digital ticket policy takes action.
The use of GoFan for DCIAA sporting events is still very new as well as the use of Digital Ticketing platforms for high school games, which allows space for improvement as the usage continues. •