On Wednesday, October 15th , the Albany Academy was bursting with school spirit as the four houses – Henry, Beck, Olcott, and Gates – competed in an inter-house competition.
The first event of the day was the pool relay, in which the participants had to don a shirt, swim two laps, exit the water, and hand the shirt to the next swimmer. Henry House won with flying colors, coming in first place by almost four pool lengths. Gates House came in second place, Olcott third, and Beck last.
After a few more close competitions, the dodgeball competition was up. The judges had matched up Henry House with Beck House, and Gates House with Olcott House in the first round. Beck flattened Henry, and Gates narrowly edged out Olcott. In the consolation match, Olcott defeated Henry through smart play and good clock management. In the finals, Beck knocked out Gates for the win. After dodgeball, the standings showed that Beck House was in first, Gates in second, Henry in third, and Olcott in last place.
The figure-skating competition was up next. Gates went first and amused the crowd with a strange display of bird-like movements. Next Henry’s skaters executed some complex pirouettes and other maneuvers. The Olcott skaters’ main goal was apparently to pump up the crowd, most likely to earn points for the house spirit competition. Beck House competed last, and its skaters used a hockey goal as part of their routine.
After the skating competition, the final standings for the day were tallied. Shockingly, in fourth place with 525 points was Olcott House, who finished first the previous year. Henry House was third with 550 points. Gates was second with 625 points and in first place was Beck House with 850 points.
All in all, the competition was both fun and competitive, as the houses tried their hardest to beat the others and bring home the gold.