On April 23, Brian Loo’s 12th grade period seven class won the annual English class dodgeball tournament. Loo’s period seven class won against Alonzo Vereen’s 11th grade period seven class after defeating Samantha Goodwin’s ninth grade period seven class.

The tournament is organized by Sidwell’s Student Government. Each game is eight minutes long and held in either the Pearson Athletic Center or the Wannan Gym during break. 

According to student government junior Maina Vaidya, the tournament is a student favorite, “English class dodgeball is one of my favorite Sidwell traditions,” Vaidya said. “It’s a great way to foster friendly, school-wide competition and build a stronger bond within each English class.”

In the first round, the winners of the ninth grade matches were Larsen period six, Goodwin period seven, Jaquez period one and Schroeder period four. The winners of the 10th grade matches were Schroeder period three, Larsen period five, Jaquez period four, Patwardhan period six and Harvat period two. The winners of the 11th grade matches were Vereen period seven, Hwang period one, Goodwin period three and Hwang period five. Lastly, the winners of the 12th grade matches were Goodwin period five, Harvat period seven and Hwang period six. 

Once the first round was over, each grade competed for one winner. In ninth grade, Jaquez period one and Goodwin period seven battled it out, Goodwin coming out on top as the ninth grade champions. In 10th grade Jaquez period four dominated against Harvat period two. 

This year, the tournament was overshadowed by multiple cheating scandals, the most notable being the final junior competition between Goodwin period three and Vereen period seven. According to student government representative and junior Lucy Verma, “people who were very clearly out suddenly forgot how to walk off the court… There was sneaking. There was lying. There was chaos.”

Upper School Dean of Students Darren Speece agreed, and told students: “Please, if you are engaging in this kind of behavior get a grip on things and just stop.” He reminded students the event is “just for fun” and to maintain the integrity of the matches.

As a result, a rematch was ordered for the juniors where there was additional reffing, both by Student Government and by teachers, as well as harsher, teamwide punishments. In this final matchup, Vereen period seven emerged as the winner for the junior class. 

The sophomores also found trouble following the rules. When Jaquez period four and Patwardhan period six competed, several rules were broken.

“​​People [were] deciding to jump back in, standing behind the black line and hiding behind spectators and spectators [were] moving up and limiting the playing field,” Student Government sophomore Sven Kramer said.  

Speece decided that there must be “either a rematch or both teams are disqualified.” According to Kramer, a rematch was decided on with a few conditions to prevent cheating: “no spectators allowed on the courts” and “spectators may only view from the indoor track.”

Only taking a short break during COVID-19, English Class Dodgeball has been a fan favorite event for as long as many teachers can remember. It is something the whole Sidwell community looks forward to every year because it is an opportunity to work together as a class and show spirit, according to Student Government Maggie Kendall. 

English classes were selected as the subject for this tournament because they are the only classes required for all four years. Dodgeball was chosen because it is inclusive, widely known and relatively quick, explained Kendall.  

According to one student, Sidwell’s tournament dodgeball is different from other versions of the game. Kendall said, “I had never heard of the jailbreak rule before but I think it adds to the game because if you are the last one standing and someone throws a ball at you and you catch it, your whole team is back in.” 

The dodgeball games encourage students to reach out to their classmates and work together to compete. Student Government will give out a trophy to the winning class, and the teacher keeps it in the English department until the next tournament, further motivating the students to work as a team to succeed. 

The tournament provides opportunities for students to socialize and talk to new people, said Goodwin. 

“There is always some good natured trash talking,”  Goodwin explained. She added that there is always lively banter and friendly ribbing within the department about the status of the tournament. 

Freshman Zoe DeGarmo said that break can sometimes be uneventful, but “watching the different games has been so fun and it really brings the other grades together who might not usually have a reason to interact.” 

The tournament is designed in a way that after the first round, an English class will rarely play another class in its same grade in order to promote whole school camaraderie. 

“English Class Dodgeball brings so much liveliness to campus, there are always students strategizing and us teachers always go down to cheer on our class,” Goodwin added.

According to Goodwin, the tournament is a “net positive” for the grade, and an excellent way of establishing feelings of unity in the grade.