Spirit Day is a tradition at ODA, but this year some traditional games have been lost. Did you notice how dry your hair was after this year’s Fireman’s Carry? One of the most renowned Spirit Day games was dramatically altered! It was downsized to the Bucket Brigade, or known to student as “the Baby Water Bucket Pass.” In this year’s version of the old Fireman’s Carry game, we couldn’t even use our heads much less drench our heads with water! But, all change is not bad, right? Or was it not right for this and other historic games to have been replaced?

Other than the Fireman’s Carry being changed, Volleyball was gone. It was a great team sport that didn’t involve pushing and shoving or any other aggressive behavior. Instead, Broom Hockey was implemented; the complete opposite. People were ramming into each other, the ends of the brooms were flying everywhere and sticks were just missing heads. Is this safe?

Surprisingly, Kickball was replaced. Yes! Your favorite childhood sport, GONE, and replaced with Wiffle Ball–a sport safe enough for the indoors.

Rj Jansen 14′ said, “Spirit Day was a lot of fun this year, but I was sad to see old favorites such as Kickball and Fireman’s Carry go.”

Perhaps the most stressful new sport of Spirit Day was the Golf Ball Balance, a game based purely on coordination and nothing to do with athleticism. Each person, one at a time, while everyone was watching, had to jump or walk over an obstacle course while balancing a golf ball on a paddle. If you drop the ball at any point, you have to start back from the beginning. So much pressure!

Zoe Genkin 14′, who proved to be very athletic during the other games, dropped the ball about four times. “I hated it!” she exclaimed, “It wasn’t a normal talent to have, I do not practice balancing a golf ball on a paddle.” She loves Spirit Day, but she was not a fan of this game.

Don’t get too discouraged, the Hula Hoops were still there, but for a different reason. Rather than having to toss the Hula Hoop around the person, you had to throw a Frisbee for the other person to catch inside of the Hula Hoop. Those who have been playing Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesdays and Thursdays had a clear advantage in the competition.

One of the greatest summer camp games, Musical Chairs, found its way to ODA as Musical Dots. It is played, just like Musical Chairs, but with dots. Instead of running around chairs, you had to run around the tennis court as the DJ, music teacher Mr. Miller of course, played and stopped the music. This game seemed to be the favorite new addition to Spirit Day. Everyone could participate, because it didn’t require much of anything, yet it was still fun.

Many 2013 Spirit Day goers were feeling disappointed seeing some of their favorites go, but there might have been reasons behind the decisions.

Maria Massaro 14′ explained that, “you need Fireman’s Carry to keep you cool.” It was lower than sixty degrees arriving to the football field that morning. Imagine dumping gallons of freezing cold, water on top of your head; you wouldn’t be the first to volunteer, would you?

Mr. Brewer, the Director of Fun and Spirit Day, clarified that the changes were mostly due to time, space, and accommodating students’ wants and needs. The change in Fireman’s Carry, for example, was fueled by the students, mostly seniors, not wanting to get wet.

Kickball was changed to Wiffle Ball because it was a “victim of space.” Because the sixth graders were moved to the Upper School fields, there were sixty more kids and space became an issue. You can kick a ball much farther than you can hit a Wiffle Ball.

Volleyball was changed to the Golf Ball Balance due to time constraints. According to Mr. Brewer, “the time to organize teams ate up most of the time. There would be not enough time to play a meaningful game.” Unlike Volleyball, the Golf Ball Balance required every person on a team to participate. “It was simpler, but required more of a manual dexterity and balance, rather than the athleticism in Volleyball.”

Broom Hockey was actually the result of people being tired of Minefield. Mr. Brewer and Coach Stone had a vision to have real Hockey, but because the sticks would mark up the courts, they decided to use brooms instead. But what was soon realized, was the durability of the brooms. “We might have to get stronger brooms next year,” chuckled Brewer.

In all, the Director of Fun said that Spirit Day went “pretty well. The weather was fantastic, which was an advantage, even though it was chilly in the morning. It went good, smoothly, and there were no serious injuries.”

If you would like some input to the 2014 Spirit Day schedule, don’t hesitate to talk to Mr. Brewer or Coach Stone. Mr. Brewer added, “We can’t make everyone happy, but we would love some feedback.” Stay tuned for an upcoming poll so you can vote on Spirit Day games. And once again, congratulations Team White!