During these tough economic times, financial support for sports is consequently a scarcity. So where does the money come from? The truth behind sports funding lies in the students who participate in each sport.
     
"It's a fairly simple system," said althetic director Doug Payne. "Teams put in different fundraising requests and they are usually granted."
     
Fundraising is where the students can contribute. With all the students from each sport participating in fundraising, it's no wonder why sports pull in a fair amount of money each year. After each request for fundraising is approved, the fun begins.
     
"We do fundraisers that are fun for the kids, and they end up pulling in pretty much," said head football coach Brandon Matich. "The fundraiser that everyone really seems to like for football is our pie auction. Each seinor on the team bakes a pie that is sold at our barbeque."
     
Fundraisers for other sports include car washes, christmas tree pick-ups and much more. Depending on the fundraiser, the students on the team will work a car wash, bake a pie, or any other fundraiser their team decides to do.
     
"Some other fundraisers that the football team puts on include general donations, goal card sales, and player fees," said Matich.
     
Each player is required to pay a player fee in order to participate in that sport. The money from the player fees then goes into that sports individual fund. The money that each sport raises may be used for new uniforms, equipment, and more.
     
"The only thing that carries over from sport to sport is the ticket sale money at the football games. Football is by far the sport with the most spectators. The extra money from the tickets that isn't used for paying the refs may be carried over into another sport such as basketball," said Payne.
     
Unfortunately for the less audience friendly sports receiving little money from the state to support them, it's up to the team to raise the money needed.
     
"The school does pay for the transportation which is huge," said Coach Matich. "Other than that however we recieve no money from the school."
     
Sports fundraising is a fun, helpful way to get the community involved and aware. With the community's help and all the donations recieved from fundraising, Park City has proved that it's always willing to lend a helping hand to support student athletes.