Lion and Unicorn Day Ateneo style
Walking on to campus this morning we still a five foot yellow banana on legs, surrounded by several students in religious garb and a large 3D cardboard Elmers glue......and so began the start of Intramural Day at Ateneo. 2,300 boys were situated by class in the undercover courts - an incredible structure that all schools should have...
A tradition at the school, it is the start of the sports season and all boys are involved. The varsity players actually don't play the games but help organize the games for all the others. The boys are already divided in to classes, of about 40, with whom they will stay with all year (or in the case of 10th grade, for three years). Each class creates a mascot for the day and there is a big parade of the mascots, some of which caused hilarity among the audience.
The assembly was DJ'd by one of the English teachers and there is also a special guest each year. This year, an ex alum who has done incredibly well in business came to speak, but the boys were not as excited about him speaking as the next guests -two female volleyball players from the Ateneo University team. Wearing the shortest shorts I have seen in the Philippines (akin to those worm by most girls in the USA) these athletes came out to the podium to very loud cheers and applause. There were also five cheerleaders that joined the marching band, and so the boys got a good dose of young females today! As the final part of the ceremony, the 'olympic' torch was lit and the games began.
The assembly done, the boys began the basketball and dodgeball. While we missed the basketball as we were busy meeting (and eating again), we came back to the courts for the dodgeball tournaments....played in a different style to the US, one team is in the center of the court while the other team tries to hit them from either side of the court. As is in keeping with the rest of the school, students are facilitators and leaders of everything, and while there were a few teachers around, the students orchestrated everything. It was fun to watch -especially as 12D (the class I shadowed on Tuesday) pummeled the teams they were against, and I was secretly pleased at their success but quite glad I was not participating. Soccer balls do double duty as a dodgeball and despite baseball not being a big sport here, some of the boys had a strong arm and good aim.