At Cherry Hill East, many students enroll in physical education, which is better known as “gym.”  Students have many different opinions about gym class.  Some love it, some don’t mind it at all and some students absolutely hate it.  However, what most students seem to have in common is that they enjoy the gym tournaments.  In gym, tournaments are organized by the teachers and last for a few class periods.  They consist of multiple rounds, eliminating people as they go on.  Some of the activities that are played in gym are knockout, handball, wiffleball, ultimate Frisbee, soccer, softball and many more.  However, only certain activities are played as tournaments like pickle ball, badminton and volleyball.

Badminton can be played one vs. one or two vs. two. At Cherry Hill East, pairs play against pairs. This is also known as “doubles.” Badminton is very similar to tennis.  The ball in badminton is known as the shuffle.  The players hit the shuffle back and forth and this is known as a rally. When the shuffle hits the ground, the rally ends and there is a winner. Whoever wins the most rallies, wins the game. This is different compared to tennis because the ball is not able to hit the ground, because it can’t bounce.

Pickle ball is just like tennis and badminton. In pickle ball, it is also possible to play singles or doubles. Serving the ball diagonally from the right corner starts pickle ball. When the other team hits the ball back, it does not have to be done diagonally. In pickle ball, there is a no volley zone, which is seven feet on each side of the net, and the ball must clear this area for it to count. The ball also has to bounce before it can be hit. Only the team that served can win points.  A point is received every time the server wins a rally.  This game is played up until one side scores eleven points, and is two points ahead of the other team.

This year at East, two boys from the junior class, Justin Bryan and Jared Sands happened to win the badminton tournament and the pickle ball tournament, which does not happen frequently.  They are both in Mrs. Bowser’s gym class and are good friends.  Both boys agreed that they work very well together.

When asked if any preparation was involved, Bryan answered, “No preparation was necessary because it was just for fun.”

When asked how hard the two boys tried in the tournaments, Bryan said, “We didn’t try very hard at all.”

Bryan had a very relaxed attitude toward the tournaments. He was happy from winning, but was really just in it for the fun of playing with his friends.  Sands said that they began to try harder in the championship.

Sands said that the boys work well together because they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Justin is also a part of the ice hockey and golf team at East, and Sands plays tennis for East, which probably explains how the two friends are good at winning gym tournaments.

When Bryan was asked if he could choose between gym and taking another elective or a study hall, he said that he enjoys gym and would choose gym.  Sands agreed.

The two boys also agreed that more people would try harder and participate in the tournaments if there was a prize or incentive.

When asked if he would have won the tournaments with a different partner, Bryan laughed and said, “no way.” He also said that playing in the tournaments with friends makes it much more fun and entertaining.