By Noel FerriolsIt’s not over ‘til the fat lady sings…I guess that could more or less sum up the intense competition between the Odd and Even teams in Hall 1’s sports fest this year. Entitled Huego! 06, this year’s sports fest was packed with fun, flare, and…um…ferfection!
Preparations for the sports fest started days before, with both teams painting their banners and practicing their cheers. The atmosphere became tenser with each passing day.
The day of reckoning came on December 4, 2006…The dormers were roused from their beds by the House Council on the PA system at 4:30 in the morning. They immediately started dawning their colors – Red for the Odd team, White for the Even team – while other residents helped in dressing up their respective muses and escorts.
After suiting up, the dormers assembled in front of the Infirmary for the ceremonial fun run. The pack was led by the House Council with HC President Xerxes Seposo carrying the torch. Following behind, each team started cheering at the top of their lungs nearly waking the whole dorm area. The fun run ended at the Covered Court where a brief opening ceremony and oath taking took place.
After having their breakfast and a little more beauty sleep, the dormers started marching to the Tennis Court and Grandstand for the first games of the day, Tennis and Football! The Odd team dominated the first two events with Burn and IC winning it for tennis and the Odd girls outscoring the Even girls in the penalty shoot-out that followed the 2-2 draw for the Football match.
The Even team did not take this lightly and came back with louder cheers and yells during the Basketball game. The Odd boys gained the lead at the end of the first quarter but the Even girls played a solid game during the second, earning them the lead. The Even team maintained and stretched their advantage way into the dying seconds of the game until they emerged as this year’s Basketball champions!
After lunch, the Even team continued their winning streak by dominating both Volleyball games for men and women. The Table Tennis matches took place simultaneously with Bryan winning it for the Even team and Jolly winning it for the Odd team. The Badminton event was also won by the Odd team making it a really close fight for overall supremacy.
Late in the afternoon, the dormers went back to the grandstand for the Larong Pinoy. Again, the competition was pretty tight with the Odd team clinching the Chinese Garter and Tug of War events. The Even team came back by winning Sikyu. It was anyone’s game by the time all the Pinoy games ended and it was left to the Nature Trek event to decide who would emerge as this year’s champions.
This year’s Nature Trek was a grueling combination to test each team’s cohesiveness, stamina, and perseverance. The Trek was organized by the Hall 1 Upperclassmen and it consisted of 8 stations starting from the Covered Court and ending at the Ocean Weather Laboratory (OWL). Both teams were neck-in-neck up to the final station where the Odd team finished just a few minutes before the even team.
The sports fest ended with the Odd team being crowned as champions for the second year in a row. Although the competition was tough and tensions ran high, at the end of the day all the residents were back to their fun-loving selves, congratulating and comforting one another in a true show of sportsmanship that only Balay Lampirong can foster. Everyone enjoyed every minute of the day but exhaustion finally settled in. The dormers trooped back to their home away from home for much needed rest.
The next day, most of the residents were doing the Hall 1 walk…that was, limping up and down the AS stairs…scratches, bruises, aching muscles and all…at the end of everything no one cared…as cliché as it may sound, pain was temporary, glory is forever…BALAY LAMPIRONG ROCKS!!!
