Westford Academy’s Student Council (STUCO) has added two new events, musical chairs and Dizzy Bats Inflatable Race, to the Friday, Oct. 24 Spirit Rally game lineup. The new events will be replacing the previous years’ greased watermelon toss and sumo wrestling events.
According to STUCO, these changes were made to bring something fresh to the rally and to make the competition more accessible for all students.
“We wanted it to be more inclusive,” STUCO adviser Maggie Sulka said. “We wanted there to be opportunities that weren’t perceived as being just for athletic students.”
The sumo wrestling and greased watermelon toss events were removed due to safety and fairness concerns as well. In past years, students have gotten injured due to the aggressiveness of the wrestling game, and there have also been injuries involved with the greased watermelon toss.
Moreover, there have been complaints about the greased watermelon event being unfair. According to junior and Head of the Spirit Rally Committee Raina Chatterjee, STUCO wanted to avoid having as many complaints this year.
“We were ready for something new,” Sulka said. “[The sumo wrestling event is] something that the spirit rally has been doing for a long time. But we thought [these new games] would get more people involved, instead of just two people.”
The Dizzy Bats Inflatable Race is a partner event where two participants from each grade will place their heads on the top of a bat and spin around five times before running through an obstacle course. The course, created by STUCO, will be filled with a variety of obstacles, such as cones and jump ropes. To make the event more difficult, all participants in the race will be required to wear inflatable costumes, specifically the kind where the costume-wearer appears to be riding an animal, such as a dinosaur or chicken.
“We’re going to make seniors choose [their costume] first, because this will be something new,” Sulka said. “I think that all of the inflatables that the representatives chose are pretty funny.”
Other than the two new events, the rest of the Spirit Rally will remain the same. There will still be tug of war, a potato sack race, a pie eating competition, dodgeball, and a wheelbarrow race. Additionally, there will be an alternative option for those who do not want to watch or participate in the spirit rally; this year, STUCO will have laid-back games in the courtyard, such as can jam, cornhole, or board games.
“It’s important to provide an alternative option because not everyone may feel comfortable in a large, high-energy environment, which can be overwhelming,” junior co-chair of the Spirit Rally Committee Luana Rodriguez said. “Having laid-back [games] in the courtyard ensures that everyone has a way to participate and enjoy school spirit in a setting that matches their comfort level.”
While the removal of the sumo wrestling and greased watermelon toss events may come as a disappointment to some students, Chatterjee believes that the spirit rally will still be a fun experience for everyone.
“I definitely understand [the disappointment] because they were fun games,” Chatterjee said. “But I think as the spirit rally changes and as our school is changing, we are going to see a lot of new changes in place in terms of student council, and this is one of them. But I don’t think that our new games are going to be any less fun. If anything, I think they’re going to be more fun.”
