Sneakers squeak, and cheering voices bounce off the walls.
Plastic hockey sticks slam the polished gymnasium floor to send the ball into the net.
These sounds announcethe high school’s annual Winter Olympics on Jan. 30 with freshmen through seniors participating in the competition. In the main gymnasium, the entire high school will watch the four final teams compete.
What everyone doesn’t see are the behind-the-scenes battles that determine the finalists. Starting Jan. 12 during homeroom, the students who signed up have played against each other in eight-minute games. The four teams left at the end of the preliminary rounds will compete in front of the school during a pep rally. The event will also have the announcement of this year’s Snow King and a cheer performance.
The Winter Olympics is organized and run by the Student Council. Social studies teacher Andrew Warren feels the Winter Olympics would be unachievable without everyone contributing.
“I think that Winter Olympics would not be possible without working alongside Ms. Altemose as a co-adviser, the members of our organization, the players that are on the teams, as well as the flexibility of other staff members,” Warren said.
The Winter Olympics are made up of self-chosen student teams at sign up. Senior Jillian Dance is competing in the Winter Olympics and appreciates the opportunity the event gives her to reconnect with old friends.
“I like that [Winter Olympics] brings people together that I haven’t seen in a while,” Dance said. “Our team decides to go out to dinner even though we don’t hang out most of the year. So, it’s just a group of people we haven’t seen in a while, so we all decide to go out and have fun with it and a little team bonding.”
Senior Jacob Mott is playing and observes that when competing, working well together is crucial.
“If your team isn’t working together, and you’re all off doing your own thing, there’s no coordination,” Mott said. “What I’ve seen has really affected our offenses this year. A lot of people aren’t scoring as much because the ball is just all over the place, and it just isn’t working as well without us being cooperative.”
Warren sees the Winter Olympics as important to the school’s culture.
“We look forward to having a school-wide pep rally next week in which the entire student body is going to be able to watch the final four teams compete against each other for the championship,” Warren said. “Along with the ongoing Snow King competition, this is also a chance for us to be able to connect the Winter Olympics portion of this year to other initiatives we’ve planned and are carrying out as an organization.”
Along with the games, there is a Snow King competition. Students can vote for their choice of Snow King by putting aluminum can tabs into candidates’ buckets in the cafeteria. All the proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House Charities to help families in need with sick children.
