By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
In its ongoing efforts to ensure a pleasant and safe experience for all involved, Union City High School is instituting a new attendance policy at its home basketball games for the upcoming season.
Adult supervision will be required for any child under 13 to be admitted to contests at Marty Sisco Gymnasium. The adult accompaniment is intended to ensure supervision and responsible decision-making and to eliminate congestion in areas of the gym where safety could be an issue.
Failure to comply will result in the unattended child being denied admission. A parent, guardian, or other adult will then be contacted to pick up the child.
UC Schools officials will monitor the admission entrances.
UCHS Principal/Athletic Director Jacob Cross said the supervision policy “will head off any potential issues” with unattended children and follows the trend of many other school systems that’ve introduced similar regulations for athletic events on their campuses.
“It’s an issue of safety and accountability, and it’s just good common sense,” Cross said. “You’d never think of dropping off your young child at a venue unsupervised for two or three hours, and we believe that a ballgame is no different.
“We obviously want young students to attend our games and support our programs and athletes, but I think this will help alleviate any congestion in our lobby areas and keep our walkways and aisles free and passable, too. Other schools have successfully put similar policies in place, and we’re always looking at ways to improve safety and make any experience at our school a pleasant and safe one.”
Union City will open its 2025-26 home season on Thursday night with the Tornadoes hosting Crockett County.