Mars cheer boosters draw up plans for high school mascot
ADAMS TWP — With a team name as colorful and distinct as the Planets, it’s a surprise that Mars Area High School has never had a mascot of any kind for its athletics programs.
That could change soon, thanks to the efforts of Courtenay Carrel and the Mars Cheer Boosters, who have spent the past two years brainstorming potential designs for a school mascot. Carrel, who is the president of the booster club, said the idea to find a mascot for the high school was not hers alone.
“It was collaborative, from our whole board along with our cheer coaches,” Carrel said. “We feel like (the mascot is) an auxiliary spirit member to bring more school spirit to the school and community.”
The boosters have spent time getting in touch with collegiate spirit groups for inspiration, including the Toledo Rockets, who have a similarly space-themed mascot: Rocky the Rocket.
“We've reached out to a lot of collegiate spirit programs to get a better understanding of what's involved in starting a mascot from scratch,” Carrel said.
According to Carrel, four mascot designs have been drawn up, all of which are based on the athletic teams’ name of the “Fightin’ Planets.” All four designs were shown to the Mars Area School Board at its monthly work session Tuesday evening, Oct. 3. Carrel said none of the designs are set in stone and they are open to alterations.
Ultimately, the school board will have the final say in determining which mascot design is used. The most important thing to Carrel is to create a mascot that is both distinct and representative of Mars Area.
“We went to Moon (Township) just a few weeks ago, and they had a tiger mascot. ‘Moon Tigers,’” Carrel said. “To me, that doesn’t go together. At least we’re doing something unique to our school.”
The cheer boosters have been setting aside money for various phases of the mascot’s development, including storage, cleaning and upkeep of the mascot costumes when Mars eventually receives them. The next step for the boosters will be to contact mascot design agencies for quotes on finalized character designs.
Of course, when the costume finally arrives, someone has to wear it. The intent is for the mascot costume to be worn by multiple students throughout the year, as a single student might not be available for all of the mascot’s required appearances.
“We're going to have auditions and tryouts,” Carrel said. “It’s our plan to get multiple people, hopefully, to want to try out for that position.”
