From Monday, January 22nd to Friday, January 26th, RMS students formed teams and competed against each other in three-minute Spartan Ball (dodgeball) competitions. This tournament was organized and planned by WEB teachers Mr. Bedrousi (scorekeeper), Mr. Andreas, Mrs. Chuang, Ms. Combs, and Ms. McMillin. Students could sign up with teams of five through a Google Form posted on their grade-level Google Classrooms. Some teams were: Guac, Mr. Andreas the Goat, the Rizzlers, the Watermelon Eaters, and more.
The Watermelon Eaters, who consisted of Ethan Martinez, Adrian Ochoa, Andretti Monzon, Caiden Hanson; were the most feared team, according to Zane Accad, one of the participants. Zane explains, “I decided to play because I thought it would be fun and also, I wanted In-N-Out.” Another interviewed player, and winner, Andrew Yum, had similar reasons for playing. “I played because I was kind of bored and I thought it would be fun to play something that is enjoyable.”
The team with the most players left after three minutes won the game. Winners competed against winners, until eventually, there were two teams left: Mr. Andreas the Goat and Guac. The final winner was Mr. Andreas the Goat. However, when it was discovered that team Mr. Andreas the Goat made a mistake while filling out the Google Form, and replaced players with other players, so the In-N-Out reward was handed to Team Guac instead.
“I loved the enthusiasm of the students who both participated and came to watch. It brings another level of competition and excitement to lunch and gives students something to look forward to,” says Ms. McMillin. However, many WEB coordinators and students agree that there was one problem. “I think to improve, we could host another Spartan Ball tournament where the teams have to be a mixture of boys and girls so that we can get even more students involved,” adds Ms. McMillin. Teachers were worried that the students who signed up were predominantly male, and hoped that in the future, other genders will step up to the challenge too.
If you didn’t get the chance to play, or you wish you had, don’t worry because Ms. McMillin assured us that this isn’t the last that we’ll see of the WEB tournaments. You can look forward to a Trivia Tournament in the near future, followed by Tug O’ War. She also guaranteed another Spartan Ball competition sometime in the near future, possibly next year, for the seventh graders who did not get the chance to play this time around. So if you did not get to play this year, then next year could be your chance! “Students should sign up because it’s a fun thing to do during lunch to compete with your friends and the winners get In-N-Out for lunch!” says Ms. McMillin. “The more students who participate, the more fun the events are! The signups are always posted in the grade level Google Classrooms and announced in the daily bulletin.”