Talk about excellence! On Wednesday, May 18, students and faculty alike set aside their academic responsibilities to participate in and run KO’s first Cup Day, similar to a field day.
Cup Day saw the student body compete as members of the four houses into which they were divided earlier in the school year in a modified revamp of an old KO tradition: York, Lancaster, Nottingham, and Windsor.
Going into the event, Student Government hoped to run an exciting event that would allow students to blow off steam at the end of the year while getting them excited about the new house system. “The house system has had a bit of a rocky start,” SGA treasurer and junior Frank Pu said, “but we hope this event will bring energy to it while allowing students to embrace the KO spirit.” SGA had worked to plan the day since their return from spring break in March.
The day’s events began in Roberts Theater at 9:00 a.m. with a classic event: the prefect skit, in which the prefects dress up as and deliver humorous impressions of beloved teachers. This year’s skit imagined individual teachers’ reactions to an ice storm that occurred earlier in the year. Highlights included Garret Gallup’s picture-perfect impersonation of science teacher Greg Hegemen and Ashley Taffe’s knockout performance as history teacher Stacey Savin. “At first, everyone was pretty nervous on stage,” senior Head Prefect Stella Risinger said. “So that was a major concern, but ended up being super fun, and we pulled it together in the end.”
After the skit and some initial displays of house spirit, each house divided into nine subgroups who alternated between various standard field day games during the rest of the day. Every subgroup had the opportunity to participate at six stations, including a water balloon toss, flag tag, and chicken in the henhouse.
Although some logistical snafus ensued, SGA, with the help of Dean of Students Krista Sahrbeck as emcee, were able to keep events moving and ensured that everyone had a good time. “The game schedules were definitely the hardest to plan,” Form Six President and senior Allie Wildstein said, “but overall I thought planning it was super rewarding.”
After the rotating games, the houses, each reunited and then divided in half by grade, battled it out in a series of intense games of tug-of-war. Lancaster showed they were in it to win it, winning every round they participated in. For a final round, the Form Five and Six members of Lancaster were pitted against the strongest members of two other houses, Nottingham and York. In a stunning dramatic conclusion, the rope partially snapped mid-competition and Ms. Sahrbeck called a tie.
Following a brief number-crunching session by the SGA, during which the entire Upper School engaged in a massive game of flag tag, York and Nottingham against Windsor and Lancaster, the KO community filed into Roberts to hear the final scores. While York had held a tight lead over Lancaster following the end of the games, Lancaster’s convincing wins at tug-of-war netted them 300 additional points and handed them a blowout win. Lancaster scored 450 points, including 30 points for having the best spirit, York scored 215, counting 30 points for the best dressed award, Nottingham scored 190 points, and Windsor placed last, scoring 175 points in total, but earning 30 points for showing the best sportsmanship. Lancaster was presented with the coveted Cup, officially designating them as the inaugural champions.
The joy of having raucously indulged in tribalistic impulses hung over the student body as they lingered at an outdoor barbeque provided by Sage Dining following the announcement. “I felt like it was a good, chill bonding day which I appreciate after a long school year,” senior Amrita Natarajan said. In all, the first of many Cup Days was a pleasant affair for all involved.
