Varsity means what?

We've entered the world of American high school sport. That includes the most important words of Varsity and JV or Junior Varsity.

Varsity is the school's top team in a sport. They don't divide by age groups, just school

Waiting at the finish line, with other supporters, for the
runners to come around the corner.

divisions. So our son now competes against everyone in high school. As our school is quite small, it isn't so difficult to get into some of the varsity teams (basketball, volleyball, and soccer, the three most popular sports are a bit harder). Still, it is an honour.

Yesterday our son came 4th out of our high school cross-country runners in his race. Only 50th out of 85 against all the other international schools who competed, but the more important thing is how well the kids run compared to their previous races. He ran nearly two-minutes faster than last week (though the race last week was 400m longer). I'm so proud of him.

Seeing as the team is so small (only 10 runners) they're all Varsity. And that lends a certain glamour to his school representation.

There are other phrases like "lettering in your sport" and "letterman jacket".

Wiki answers tells me:

Lettering in a sport usually has to do with your High School years. If you letter in a sport that means that you played on the Varsity team and you remained on the team for that entire year. To letter you must play a varsity sport and usually at the end of the year most teams throw a banquet and your coach will hand you the initials of your school which is considered your letter, it is also what you put on letterman jackets in high school.

Wikipedia tells me:

A letterman, in U.S. sports, performing arts or academics, is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity athletic team, marching band, or in other performance school-sponsored activities. The Varsity Letter represents the activities one has done with varsity.

Does CAJ have a letterman's jacket? I'm not sure, but I'm sure I'll find out soon.

So, it's another world, another set of vocabulary!

In November, the much awaited wrestling season begins. There is a lot of talk going on amongst the high school wrestlers about who will be varsity. The camaraderie is awesome, they're trying to figure out how our "Freshman" (9th grader) can be varsity not JV (the second string or B team).

We'll see how it all works out and, most of all, what the coaches have to say. But in the meantime, our son is doing cross-country training four days a week and planning to start weight training twice a week from this week as well. He's very keen and I'm so thankful that we've raised him to have a healthy attitude towards sports (and food).