The new mascot poses outside the Worthington Johnson Athletics Center.
For the first time since the fall of 1995, the School unveiled a brand-new boar mascot. The new boar sports a bright yellow sports jersey and a wide grin.
When Ms. Raquel Simoneau, Manager of Campus and Community Events in the Communications Department, first raised the question of redesigning the mascot in the fall of 2022, a months-long, multi-department effort was kickstarted.
“We wanted something that was bright and vibrant for the next however many years this mascot is going to be part of Choate,” said Mr. Justin Whittaker, Assistant Coordinator of Athletic Operations and Head Equipment Manager in the Athletics Department, who was also involved in the research and design process of the new mascot.
Some features of the redesigned mascot include a fan inside the headpiece of the suit to keep the person inside cooled. The back of the mascot’s jersey also now has the number “90” written across it, representing the year the School was founded, whereas the previous mascot’s jersey was chosen simply because it fit over the body. Ms. Simoneau noted that the new mascot is more aligned with the looks of the wild boar logos commonly used in the Athletics Department.
The previous wild boar was adopted by current HPRSS teacher and former Athletics Director Mr. Ned Gallagher. At nearly 30 years old, the boar was in poor condition, with pieces falling apart and the hooves needing to be stitched up.
Work on the new wild boar began with research into patterns and similarities between various mascots for other schools. Ms. Simoneau said that many mascots wore sneakers and had bigger heads. The design team also referenced other common mascot looks and the appearance of a real wild boar.
“We talked about the structure and size of the tusks, how wide the mouth was going to be open, and what color the eyes were going to be — little details like that made a huge difference,” Ms. Simoneau said.
The School worked with the English-based design company Mascot Makers, who came up with several different versions of a new mascot to choose from. One particular prototype of the mascot “looked more tough and sports-mascot-focused.”
However, in an attempt to make the boar look more approachable, compromises were made on certain design elements, such as changing the eyes to gold for the final design. “We needed to use it for school events and not just athletics, so it wouldn’t be that fierce, competitive boar; it needed to be friendly and happy,” Mr. Whittaker said.
Students’ opinions on the new mascot varied. “It looks too nice to be in sports — the guy has a huge smile on his face,” Jordan Wallace ’24 said. On the other hand, Isa Marvin ’26 said, “I like it. It is a little less creepy and more animated.”
The new mascot made its debut during the first School Meeting in a skit by Boar Pen and Director of Student Activities Ms. Alex Long.
