The whole school SGA and administration have run into issues with planning for the spring speedball game due to limited spectator space and low ceilings in the new gymnasium, raising concerns for student and staff safety.
Since 2014, except for a brief period during the pandemic, speedball tournaments have been a staple at Poolesville High School (PHS). The game itself has been played at the school since the 1980s. PHS traditionally holds two to three tournaments a year, and they occur in the gymnasium at lunch. The tournament is popular and often features more than 20 teams and bleachers packed with spectators. However, as of January, no speedball tournaments have been held in the 2024-2025 school year due to construction-related concerns. The school only has one gym available, and some feel it is too small for speedball.
Whole school SGA President Jason Liaw stated that they had been facing difficulties with determining whether or not speedball could be hosted this coming March, with many decisions remaining up in the air. Some alternatives are being considered by the administration as a substitute for speedball games.
“We’ve talked about the possibility of doing a student versus staff basketball game during lunch, as it would require less space to host compared to a regular speedball tournament,” said Liaw. “There is also an option to live stream the speedball games, and restrict each game to only a certain number of spectators in order to reduce the amount of people in the auxiliary gym.”
Additionally, the SGA and administration are currently discussing how to make the games even more appealing to students by featuring special performances.
“We’ve agreed that we want to see more staff participation in speedball tournaments, particularly during halftime, ” Liaw said, mentioning how staff performances have become a beloved tradition. “Students and staff alike enjoy them, so we know we have to get more teachers to share their talents at these games.”
Senior Amelia Goettsch, who has participated in every speedball tournament since her sophomore year, was disappointed when she found out that there may not be any speedball tournaments in the 2024-2025 school year. She enjoys speedball because she believes it mixes many different sports together and unites the school community.
“Every season the school comes closer together to watch its students compete with one another,“ Goettsch said.
Goettsch hopes that there will be a speedball tournament this spring, and thinks that the current gym has enough space for the game to be played, as long as spectators are limited. She also likes the idea of the tournament being live-streamed somewhere like Instagram and said that her parents would probably watch.
“Taking away a cherished tradition without attempting to find some sort of solution, even if there is a little sacrifice, would be disappointing,” said Goettsch, “We can’t let the spirit of Poolesville be forgotten as we transition to the new building.”
Administration and SGA have not yet been able to finalize a decision on the fate of speedball, but are working on finding a resolution that will best accommodate the needs of students and staff involved in the speedball tournaments.
