Clay Tydings ’17
Rhodes Smith ’17 goes up for the catch
Ever since Dr. Hulsey came to Woodberry, change has been ongoing. This year, the Woodberry Cup was introduced as one of those changes. The Woodberry Cup divides the school into eight teams composed of students and faculty. Each team competes in competitions occurring once per week with the ultimate goal of gaining the most points so that your team wins the trimester awards at the end of each trimester and eventually the Woodberry Cup itself at the end of the year.
So far, we have had at least one competition every week. The first competition was tied to an organization known as Stop Hunger Now brought to campus by Thompson Brock ‘16 and was a competition to see which team could make the most meals. These meals would eventually be sent to famlies around the globe in need of food. In total, we packaged more than 175,000 meals! Since Stop Hunger Now, we have played human chess, handball, flickerball (a game similar to football), and Woodberry feud. We have also created our own cheers and had a cheer competition. For Halloween, underformers were able to carve team pumpkins and seniors were allowed to wear costumes to class and lunch hoping to earn points for their respective teams. The most recent competition involves the creation of murals in preparation for The Bonfire.
DeTrea Smith ’17 (left) and Gray Robertson ’16 (right) compete in Woodberry Feud with Mr. Connor Marr (middle) calling the categories
The Woodberry Cup has fostered a healthy, competitive spirit amongst students from different teams and brought together diverse groups of people from all four forms. As a result of the Woodberry Cup, students who normally do not interact have been paired together and given the chance to get to know one another. The competitive spirit that the Woodberry Cup has created has also strengthened the bonds of brotherhood that are so valued by Woodberry students and alumni.
Besides bringing students together, the Woodberry Cup has opened up opportunities for students. “The Woodberry Cup gives me a chance as a swimmer to try new things like flickerball,” says Carl-Ake Willberg, an international student from Stockholm, Sweden. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of the Woodberry Cup is the relief in scheduling it provides. For the first time, we get to try out Saturdays without classes. Everyone agrees it is a plus.
Overall, the Woodberry Cup is a hallmark of what will eventually become a long-standing tradition. Although a few kinks still need to be worked out, looking back on it as an alumnus, I will be proud to have been a founding member of the Woodberry Cup.
Woodberry Feud
Categories: Today
The Woodberry Oracle 