High Schoolers go to War

By Owen Lai

On November 10, all of Dalat’s high school gathered on the outdoor basketball court during AHOD for a tug-of-war match between the four houses. 

For the first time, competition between the four houses or teams: Bolt, Wave, Quake, and Blaze, was extended beyond the traditionally held Eagle Games. This year’s Eagle Games was a tight competitive event in which Quake took the victory. However, PAL proposed that the houses continue to compete with each other throughout the year during AHOD, where they could compete in a myriad of events. This would allow the three other teams that fell short to get revenge and potentially claim victory. 

Each house competed twice in tug-of-war, and two students, one boy and one girl, from each grade level, volunteered or were peer pressured into participating. The crowd fell silent, anticipating Mr. Penland’s call for the match to begin. 

As the match began, cheers from all teams echoed around the basketball court as each team tried their hardest to pull most of the rope to their side of the court. Some competitors who were wearing slides for slippers found it difficult to find footing. This created a comical scene where they either lost their shoes in the midst of battle or were at the mercy of the rope. Each match was close and fierce, but a clear winner was determined for all of them.

The matches were Bolt vs. Blaze, with Blaze winning. Bolt vs. Wave, with Bolt taking the win. Blaze vs. Quake, with Blaze going two for zero. Finally, Wave vs. Quake, with Wave taking the win. 

This would make Blaze the overall winners as they won both of their matches, making up for their defeat and 4th place finish in Eagle Games. Bolt and Wave tied for second, with Quake coming in last, a far cry from their first-place finish in the Eagle Games. 

The most important thing about the tug-of-war event and the continuation of the competition between the houses was not who won and who lost, but the experience of competing or cheering on your team. Noah Lee, a senior, and member of Blaze, summed up the experience, “It was fun. I was really glad I could gain some points for my team by winning.”