Custom Shirts for Every School Activity

The activities wing of a school is a dozen small programs, each with its own calendar and its own reason for wanting a shirt. Drama orders a new one every production. Yearbook needs staff to be identifiable with a camera at a game. The ag program wants something for the barn and something that looks right at the fair. None of them are ordering the same shirt, and most of them are run by a teacher sponsor with no time and a small budget. Part of Spirit Wear for Schools and Teams.

Below are the guides for each program, then a planning section for sponsors and activities directors who handle more than one.

Performing arts

• Custom Marching & Concert Band Shirts - Big sections, competition travel days, and long call times.
• Custom Choir & A Cappella Shirts - Concert dress is one thing; tour and rehearsal wear is another.
• Custom Theater Show Shirts & Cast Tees - A new cast-and-crew shirt every production, not one per year.

Academic and leadership

• Custom Speech & Debate Team Shirts - Blazers at the podium, team shirts for travel and downtime.
• Custom Student Council & Leadership Shirts - Being findable while you're running the event.
• Custom Honor Society Shirts - Restraint and legibility over volume.
• Yearbook and Journalism Staff Shirts - The closest thing a student photographer gets to a press pass.

Studio, shop, and barn

• Art Club Shirts With Student-Made Designs - When the members are the designers.
• Custom Ag Program Shirts for Fair Week and Shows - Livestock, mechanics, and greenhouse crews under one chapter name.

The club year, and when each program needs shirts

Activity shirts don't line up with the sports calendar. A rough map of a typical school year, so you can see when orders bunch up:

The useful habit is to write each program's first event that needs a shirt on one calendar in August, then count back about four weeks from each. That spreads ten small orders across the fall instead of discovering them all the week before homecoming.

What each kind of program needs

Big performing groups (band, choir) need one design in many sizes, often on two garments: a tee for travel and warm days, and an Adult Hoodie for cold stands and late buses. Section leaders or a band parent usually collect sizes.

Show-based programs (theater) need a new design every production, often with a cast list on the back. Crew members frequently want Black, since they work backstage. Plan one order per show, timed for the first dress rehearsal or opening night.

Competition teams (debate, academic teams) are small, travel a lot, and want something tidy for tournament downtime. An Adult Polo or a crewneck often fits better than a loud tee.

Leadership and service groups (student council, honor society) need to be recognizable while working an event. A clear title across the back, like "STUDENT COUNCIL" or "ASK ME," and a color that stands out from the crowd matter more than artwork.

Staff-style programs (yearbook, journalism) want "STAFF" or "PRESS" readable from behind at a game, so people know why a student with a camera is on the sideline.

Maker programs (art club, ag program) often want the members' own artwork on the shirt. Upload a scan or photo of the drawing; artwork file prep explains what scans well.

Garments and print areas

Every garment has one price for every size, the price includes one printed surface, and each extra surface adds $8.99 to $10.99 depending on the product:

The polo is printed, not stitched, and runs trimmer through the shoulders. Gildan tees and hoodies run true to size with a little room in the body. See the products page for every item and the color guide for matching school colors.

Ordering for many small programs

If you're an activities director or a sponsor juggling several clubs, a few things make life easier:

• One cart, many designs. Different designs, items and sizes, youth and adult, can sit in one order. Bulk prices count on each item's own pieces across colors and sizes, so several small clubs ordering Adult Tees together can reach a tier none of them would alone: the Adult Tee is $10.90 from 12, $10.74 from 24 and $9.03 from 50.
• Several addresses, one payment. One order can ship to up to 10 addresses; the first address ships free, and each additional one shows its postage in the cart. Useful when the band boxes go to the band room and the debate shirts go to a sponsor's classroom.
• Paperwork for the office. The cart produces a quote PDF good for 30 days, takes a PO number, and can be paid by card or invoice. Tax-exempt schools send a certificate and the sales tax is refunded.
• Sizes by link. A sizes link collects each member's size (up to 300 answers, no account needed), and one button adds them to the order. For a shirt with each member's name, a names link collects what prints and the size together.

Budgets and sponsors

Most activity budgets are a mix of club dues, an activity fee and whatever the boosters raise. A few approaches that work:

• The program buys the member shirt; families buy extras. Put the design on a free storefront where parents and alumni can order their own at listed prices. When an organization with an EIN, a W-9 and a bank account (often the booster club) runs it, it earns 10% of storefront sales as standard. The spirit wear fundraiser guide has the full math.
• Sponsors on the back. A local business sponsoring the band or the spring musical can have its logo on the back of the shirt. Upload each sponsor's logo and ask Remi to arrange them in a neat grid under a line like "Thank you to our sponsors." That's a back print beside the front design, so it's one extra surface.
• Free names and numbers. Names on members' shirts cost nothing extra on their own; next to a printed front, the back print is one extra surface.

Ordering with Remi

Remi is the chat designer at /design. Describe the shirt in plain English, for example "Fall play cast and crew, show title on the front, cast list on the back, white ink on Black," or upload a club logo or student artwork. Refine it in chat, see it on the garment and color, add sizes, and pay at checkout. Designing is free, so a sponsor can draft the next show's shirt now and order it later.

Questions about activity shirts

Is there a minimum for a small club?

No. One shirt is a real order at the listed price, so a nine-person debate squad orders the same way a sixty-piece band does.

How far ahead should a club order?

Production typically runs up to 10 business days after checkout, plus transit, and the cart shows expected delivery dates before you pay. There's no rush printing, so plan about three to four weeks before the event. See ordering deadlines and timing.

Can several clubs share one order?

Yes. Different designs and items go in one cart, and one order can ship to up to 10 addresses with one payment.

Can we put the whole cast list on the back?

Yes. A list of names can be part of the back design; it's one extra surface beside a printed front. Names print exactly as typed, so proofread the list.

What if a shirt arrives misprinted?

Send a photo within 30 days of delivery for a reprint or refund. A wrong size or change of mind isn't returnable.

Ordering beyond one club

• One club with a small roster? Custom school club shirts covers the general case.
• Coordinating across a whole building? See custom school shirts.
• Collecting sizes from many families? See the order-collection guide.
• Looking for pictures? Browse the school clubs idea gallery and the cheer, band and dance gallery.

No minimum on any of it - a nine-person debate squad orders the same way a sixty-piece band does.

Start designing your club's shirts →