By Bruce Karnick

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Local sports fans need to be aware of an important policy change effective immediately for Hastings High School sports.

“This is something that the majority of area schools are doing, including ones in our conference,” explained Athletic Director Trent Hanson. “The problem with cash handling is pretty simple, you can have a dozen people in one or multiple tills each shift. Someone then has to collect all of that cash and transport it from the venue to the school, and that opens people up to all sorts of security and safety issues. Plus, actually tracking the cash and any cash handling mistakes, cashless just makes more sense.”

He’s right, with all the various liabilities associated with cash for the school, it does make sense, and going cashless can actually help keep the schools cost lower.

“I don’t have to pay someone to manage all the cash, count it, research any mistakes, go to the bank, or anything else that may be associated with cash,” added Hanson. “It’s just safer and more consistent.”

But what does that mean for folks if they want to randomly show up at an event and buy a ticket?

“You can still show up at most of our sports events and pay for admission right there, you just have to use a credit card, or you can go online and buy, too. There may be a few instances where we cannot take a credit card at the door, but there should be someone that can help with the online ordering process,” Hanson explained The school has updated their ‘Admission to Events’ page on their website; https://www.hastingsathletics. org/admission. Here is the full text: ADMISSION TO HHS HOME EVENTS ADMISSION TO HHS HOME ATHLETIC EVENTS Admission will be charged for most home athletic events. Prices are set by the Metro East Conference and are $6 for adults and $4 for students. Effective August 1, 2021 NO CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED for admission.

Spectators have three options to purchase game tickets: (A) purchase online in advance (B) purchase at the door with a credit or debit card (C) purchase an electronic season pass.

** HHS students will current blue/gold cards will be admitted free.

** ISD 200 employees with staff ID are admitted free + one guest.

ONLINE ADVANCE TICKETS Single game tickets may be purchased online in advance. We have partnered with VANCO as our digital ticket vendor. Online tickets do have a small processing fee of .22 cents per adult ticket and .15 cents per student ticket. To purchase tickets online in advance CLICK HERE or use this web address: https://www.vancoevents.com/us/ eventlist/hastingsraiderstickets Fans may make a one-time purchase as a guest, or you may create a username and password in order to make repeat purchases throughout the year.

Once you complete your purchase, your “ticket” is digital. In order to be admitted to the event, bring your phone to the game and present your digital ticket to the event staff. Your digital ticket will have a unique QR code/barcode, and it will be scanned at the door. If desired, you may choose to print a paper ticket with the QR code and bring that to the event instead.

If you purchase multiple tickets for an event on one account, and members of your group will be arriving to the event separately, note that each person must have access to the tickets on their own phone/device. You will need to share access to your account or share the QR codes accordingly.

PURCHASE AT THE GATE WITH CREDIT/ DEBIT CARD Fans may purchase single game tickets at the gate with a credit or debit card. HHS uses SQUARE technology to process credit and debit card purchases. There are no extra fees to purchase tickets at the door with a card.

ELECTRONIC SEASON PASS HHS will offer 2021-22 electronic “season passes” for admission to all home varsity athletic events. This ticket option enhances our level of customer service, creates a more efficient and secure purchasing and entry process, and honors families with multiple student-athletes or multisport athletes.

Two season pass options are available. Both provide admission to all home HHS athletic events – for ALL seasons – not including section playoff games. Option one is an “adult pass.” The adult pass is $70 and admits one adult to any event. Option two is a “Adult PLUS pass.” The Adult PLUS pass is $110 and admits one adult along with a maximum of two school-aged children to any event.

Season passes are available in electronic format only. We have partnered with VANCO as our digital ticket vendor. To purchase a season pass, CLICK HERE or use this web address: https:// www.vancoevents.com/us/eventlist/hastingsraiderstickets Once you have the app and have purchased a pass, you are ready to use it at any HHS regular season home event! Your “season pass” is digital. You will not need to print anything nor will paper tickets be delivered to you. To use your season pass at a home athletic event, you will show your device and the season pass QR code/ barcode to the HHS event staff at the gate. They will scan your season pass QR code and let you in to the event.

You CAN SHARE the pass from game to game – so a parent can use the pass one game, then a sibling a different game, etc. However, anyone intending to use the pass needs to present the unique QR code/barcode – so you will need to share access to your account/ codes accordingly.

K-8 STUDENTS Students in grades K-8 must be accompanied by an adult in order to be granted admission. Parents/guardians are not allowed to purchase tickets for students and then leave them at a venue unattended. Ticket staff will make reasonable accommodations for large families or a single parent that is accepting responsibility for a small number of students (e.g. 4 or less). Students who attempt to enter an event without a supervising adult will be denied admission. Fun, first-class behavior is expected. Students or adults who demonstrate unruly behavior will be escorted out of the event by security and denied re-admittance.

PROHITITED ITEMS HHS venues are alcohol-free, drugfree, and weapons-free. Alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and weapons are prohibited o site. Outside food and beverages are not allowed. Bags and backpacks are also prohibited. Small purses and baby/diaper bags will be allowed but are subject to search by event personnel. Guests who arrive with outside food, beverages, bags, or backpacks will be asked to return them to their vehicles before entering.

ADMISSION QUESTIONS Should you have general questions about admission or admission options for HHS home events please contact the athletic office directly at 651-4807597.

GO RAIDERS!

For the 2021-2022 seasons, we will remind you weekly of the cashless policy in many of our sports stories here in The Journal. Please plan ahead and remember to get out and cheer on your Raiders!