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EDUCATION
Cheerleading does more than just raise spirits
BY STACY BUBES
Cheerleading has been a
dream of mine for as long as I
can remember. My older sister
was a cheerleader. Upon accep
tance at Holy Innocents’ Episco
pal School, I knew that I want
ed to be one too. I did not realize
how big of
a role cheer- i
leading would
play in my
high school
experience.
I tried
out during
the spring of
eighth grade.
Many were
experienced
in the sport,
while others
were just as
new as I was.
Tryout week was stressful and in
timidating. We learned a dance,
cheer, and chant, all of which we
practiced throughout the week.
Then, on Friday, we were sent
into the gym in groups of three
to perform what we had learned
for judges.
Each year, tryouts proved to
be just as stressful as they had
been the previous year. But I
grew to enjoy it more and more
every year. My hard work paid
off, and I was a member of the
basketball squad throughout all
of high school.
Cheerleaders have many jobs.
First,
“The friends and memories
that I made as a result
of this sport will always
be a part of who I am.”
- STACY BUBES
HOLY INNOCENTS’ CHEERLEADER
treated
same i
other
re are
the
is all
sports
teams. We
have practice
every day of
the week, two
of which we
work out with
the school
trainer. We
travel to The
University of
Georgia for
a three-day
summer camp.
Our main goal is to cheer for
the players, and raise the spir
it level among the school com
munity. Throughout the season,
we make signs to hang around
the school, give out stickers, and
cheer at carpool on game day
mornings.
While we cheer at all games,
home and away, Winterfest is
the biggest event of the sea
son. The week consists of a hall-
way-decorating contest between
grades, as well as various dress-
up days. There is a theme, which
changes every year.
The captains and seniors of
the squad create the Winterfest
routine, which we perform dur
ing an all-school pep rally as well
as during halftime of the Varsity
Boys Basketball game.
The cheerleaders work on
this routine for about two
months. This performance de
fines our squad for the year.
Not only does it reveal how
physically challenging our
stunts are, or how high we can
jump, but it also shows our
ability to work together and
improve throughout the years.
I was voted captain of our
Varsity Basketball Cheerlead
ing Squad this year. Being se
lected by my peers made me
realize how much this sport
meant to me. The friends and
memories that I made as a re
sult of this sport will always be
a part of who I am.
Stacy Bubes is a student at Holy
Innocents’ Episcopal School.
SPECIAL
From left, Jordan McBride, Lindsey Klopfenstein, Cory
Philipson, Alexandra Juneau and Stacy Bubes, five
Varsity Basketball Cheerleaders at Holy Innocents’.
Quidditch: A real sport for the real world
BY BLAKE FLOURNOY
SPECIAL
Blake Flournoy shows off her Quidditch skills.
If you’ve paid much attention to the
media world at any point between 1997
and 2011, chances are good that you
know at least something about the Har
ry Potter series of novels by J.K. Row
ling, or the eight movie adaptations of
the novels.
And if you know
about Harry Potter,
you probably know
at least something
about Quidditch,
the premier sport of
the wizarding world
that the series takes
place in, with all of
its magic and flying
brooms and golden
snitch snatching.
It may sound silly,
but the sport is not
confined to the pag
es of fantasy books. Quidditch is a real
sport that you can play and it is played
worldwide. Magic doesn’t have as great a
hand in the game’s procedures as much
as imagination and a drive to have fun
do, but the game exists, and I, like quite
a few others, play it.
Believe it or not, the sport is more se
rious than you would think.
Real-world play began in 2005, when
a group at Middlebury College in Ver
mont adapted the first draft of rules
from the book. The game’s rules are,
and have always been, pretty simple. For
starters, each player must always have a
broom between his or her legs.
The “Golden
Snitch” — a flying
ball in the movies —
is played by a per
son. Seekers have to
“snatch” the Snitch
by playing what is es
sentially the world’s
most manic game of
tag.
The game was
a hit, and within
weeks the rules were
spreading across col
lege campuses. Ever
since, the sport has
blossomed into an international sensa
tion, to the point that there is an Inter
national Quidditch Association (IQA)
that handles the distribution of rules,
organizes various national leagues (yes,
there are international Quidditch World
Cups), and admits new teams.
Teams can be formed at the high
school and college levels, though there
have been a few unofficial middle-school
teams.
If you were to
ask me why I love
playing Quid
ditch, I’d have to
say that I love the
insanity of the
whole affair. The
game isn’t made
to be serious. It’s
made to be fun
for all involved
and to promote
friendship be
tween teams.
At my first or
ganized game, my
team and I took
a break between
games to teach
the elementa
ry school kids in
the audience how
to play. And that
was shortly after
befriending our
opponents from
the last round!
It’s a sight to see, Quidditch. Being
on the field with friends, seeing your
Seeker zigzag through a nearby forest to
try and catch a weaselly Snitch, gives me
a feeling of satisfaction I can’t easily de
scribe.
Which is exactly why I love Quid
ditch — it only makes sense while you’re
on the field playing it.
Blake Flournoy is a student at River-
wood International Charter High School.
“If you were to ask
me why I love playing
Quidditch, I’d have to say
that I love the insanity
of the whole affair.”
- BLAKE FLOURNOY
RTVERWOOD INTERNATIONAL
CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENT
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