Volleyball, Tennis, Track...Oh My!

“One, two three, Dora the Explora!” The crowd cheered as Dora the Explora walked up to the net, ready for the game. Across the gym, the shouts of the Teletubbies filled the air, as they readied themselves to face their opponent. Images By Isaac Currey CC-BY The previous game between the two had ended with the Teletubbies winning, but Dora the Explora was ready to make a comeback. The crowd went wild as the teams stepped onto the court, everyone rooting for different players. The gym was packed with spectators; parents, friends, along with athletes from the Tennis games and Track Meet sat on the bleachers enjoying snacks and drinks from the stalls set up by the Tiger Turf. The teams volleyed the ball back and forth, the crowd cheering them on. Teletubbies came into the lead. Then Dora the Explora. After several minutes of epic saves and falls, Dora the Explora was still in the lead, having scored their 24th point. They only needed one more point to win the set. The crowd held their breath as Dora the Explora got ready for a serve. The ball flew up into the air and sailed towards the net, coming just barely too low and bouncing back down onto the floor. Teletubbies took the ball and served, an edge of confidence around the team. Dora the Explora sent the ball flying back, while the Teletubbies hurried to keep it off the ground. The ball flew back and forth, until finally, Dora the Explora sent the ball flying towards the other side, where it bounced off the floor and rolled to a gentle stop. The crowd cheered, while each team congrulated each other. Although Dora the Explora had just won, the Teletubbies had won the previous two matches meaning they had won the game. Junha, a player on the Teletubbies said “It was a great experience to showcase our growth and skills. It was also a lot of fun to play against our friends” (and quote) “destroy them.” Images By Isaac Currey CC-BY Volleyball wasn’t the only thing going on, Track and Field was holding their meet on the Tiger Turf, while Tennis held their tournament on the tennis courts. Athletes nervously milled around by the bleachers set up on the edge of the field, waiting for the events to start. It was finally announced that the Middle School 800 meter run would begin, the runners lined up at the start line, shaking out their nerves and stretching to prepare themselves. They wished each other good luck with a quick hug and stepped up onto the start line. “On your marks…get set…go!” The runners were off, getting themselves into a steady run on the inner lane. The 800m was four laps around the tiger turf, enough to be hard, but not enough to be impossible. The race was finished within three and half minutes, once the runners had finished (and ran off for water), the long jump, high jump, shot put, dicus, and 200 meter run followed, with results posted soon after for athletes to see. Once all the events had ended, Ms.Sethi, the head track and field coach gave food tickets to all the athletes, for the food stall that had been set up in the courtyard. The tables were quickly filled with students enjoying the shaded area and cold drinks. Images By Isaac Currey CC-BY While all this was going on, tennis players were still playing hard, afterall, the championships had just begun, with Josie and Hyeonseo in the girls finals, Dawa and Ayaan in the boys finals, and Yonu/Hendryk against Seungmin/Cheungwoon (apologies for misspelled names) in the boys doubles. The sun was beating down on the players, and with hardly any shade, this made the game a whole lot harder. Spectators enjoyed the games under large white tents with fans blowing mist on them, but despite this, the sun was still excruciatingly hot. The players hit the balls back and forth, switching sides every other round. Some lunged forward to get the ball, others aggressively swung their rackets at the ball. Finally, the games came to an end, with Josie winning the girls singles, Ayaan winning the boys finals, and Yonu/Hendryk winning the boys doubles. All were happy and tired, and definitely ready for lunch. Josie said she was excited to play. What a day! With one more quarter of ASIAC, there’s sure to be another day packed full with events, so be sure to keep an eye out! Go tigers! More by #Chloe