Letterman (sports)

A letterman, in U.S. activities/sports, is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team.

The term comes from the practice of awarding each such participant a cloth "letter", which is usually the school's initial or initials, for placement on a "letter sweater" or "letter jacket" intended for the display of such an award. In some instances, the sweater or jacket itself may also be awarded, especially for the initial award to a given individual.

Today, in order to distinguish "lettermen" from other team participants, schools often establish a minimum level of participation in a team's events or a minimum level of performance in order for a letter to be awarded.

A common threshold in American football and basketball is participation in a set level, often half, of all quarters in a season.

In individual sports such as tennis and golf, the threshold for lettering is generally participation in one half or sometimes two-thirds of all matches contested. Frequently, other members of the team who fail to meet requirements for a letter are awarded a certificate of participation or other award considered to be of lesser value than a letter.

Some schools continue to base the awarding of letters according to performance, in team sports requiring a certain number of scores, steals, baskets or tackles, according to position and sport. In individual sports letters are often determined according to qualification for state meets or tournaments. Other schools award letters on a more subjective basis, with the head coach, usually with the input of other coaches and sometimes student team leaders who have already lettered, awarding letters for substantial improvement as well as significant performance on or off the field. This places much more emphasis on character, commitment and teamwork as well as, and often in place of, simply playing enough or meeting some other time or performance requirement. Sometimes in high schools academic performance in classes can also be an element. This philosophy gives more focus to developing and rewarding a well rounded and balanced player, where other methods focus strictly on athletic performance and on the field victories.

This term is not gender-specific; a qualifying participant in women's basketball or other women's sports is properly referred to as a letterman, as would be a qualifying female participant on a co-educational sports team.

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