It’s uncommon for students to be disappointed by a snow day. After all, who doesn’t love to frolic in the snow? But for Hamber students and staff, this year's snow days weren’t as celebrated because they shortened the school’s most anticipated sporting event, the Midtown Showdown.

The annual three-day tournament was scheduled from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, but the two consecutive school closures on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 rendered the school unable to host the tournament as planned. Having lost Thursday, the first day of the tournament, the athletics department had to make some changes to the tournament’s schedule. The basketball tournament traditionally ends with one winner for the senior girls and one for the senior boys. This year, to ensure that all the teams could receive playing time, the teams were split into four brackets: a blue bracket and a maroon bracket for both the boys’ and girls’ teams.

In addition to the required scheduling changes, teams from South Kamloops and Chilliwack were unable to make it to the tournament. Luckily, Magee Secondary’s senior girls and boys teams were able to step in. “I was really proud of the fact that we were still able to run it and change the format,” Mr. I. Sehmbi (Athletics) said. “Changing the schedule wasn’t so bad. The challenge was getting the gym set up.”

In previous years, the PE leadership classes and the participating athletes would come and help set up the gym the day before Midtown, but due to the snow, they were unable to enter the building. Mr. Sehmbi and the senior girls’ coach, Ms. J. Polukoshko (English), drove in on the second snow day and spent five hours setting up the gym. “There was a time where we looked [around the gym] and we were just really happy that it was going to happen and that we had put that time in,” Sehmbi shared.

For many Hamber athletes, this Midtown Showdown was their last. After five years of basketball, Alejandro Diaz-Henderson (12) viewed Midtown as his final send-off. “This year was definitely more sentimental to me…it kind of felt like the way I would be remembered at Hamber.”

Diaz-Henderson was disappointed when the snow day was called because he missed out on valuable time. “It meant one less game of Midtown, which is one less game of senior basketball, which is obviously something I’m not super thrilled about,” he said. “I think Mr. Sehmbi and [Ms. Polukoshko] did really well on changing the whole system and pivoting. That’s really hard to do.”

Marcus Seid (12) had a similar experience. “Knowing that this is my last time playing at Midtown; it was a lot more emotional for me.”

Seid’s Midtown highlight was watching the younger members of the team. “This year was more of a reconfiguration of the team. We had mostly grade 10s and 11s,” he said. “The fact that the grade 10s played so well at their first Midtown was just really fun to watch.”

Midtown was an opportunity for many students to unite through school spirit. “The school really came together for the last two days of Midtown,” Alexis Moscovitz (12) said. As a player for the Senior Girls team, Moscovitz was especially excited for the grandeur of her final Midtown. “The guys cheered for us and we cheered for the guys; it felt like the whole school community coming together.”

With mixed grades on the senior teams, athletes often get to experience Midtown in both their grade 11 and grade 12 years. Mia Sutherland (11) was initially nervous for her first Midtown but ended up having a great time. “I really enjoy watching my teammates play their best. [Midtown] was mostly for the seniors, so watching them have a good time was exciting,” she said.

Sutherland shared that Midtown is always a notable event in her school year, regardless if she’s on or off the court. “It set in the fact that I'm going to be graduating next year,” she said. “It’s so scary because I’m growing up!”

Many teachers bring their classes to watch the tournament. Lucy Jackson (10) sat in the stands during both of her morning periods, lunch, and after school. During the Senior Boys team’s game, Diaz-Henderson scored a point and celebrated by running around the gym and engaging the crowd. “It was really cool. Everyone got really excited,” she recalled.

Although this year’s Midtown followed a different format, Hamber’s teams still executed their time-honoured traditions. Every year, Ms. Polukoshko writes a catchy introduction for each of the starting players. “It's a celebration of our players and all their awesome personalities, skills, and abilities,” Polukoshko said. The athletes follow this with their own special handshakes, and the tradition sets the stage for a thrilling game. Additionally, both athletes and coaches participate in crafting witty posters that line the walls of the gym.

Midtown also encompasses a variety of entertaining halftime shows. Sophia Pizzaro (12) performed and helped choreograph the halftime dance. “It was a little nerve-wracking, but not as much as I thought it would be,” she said. Along with this, Hamber’s PE Leadership 12 class is responsible for running the halftime games. This year’s games consisted of typical halftime competitions such as musical chairs but also included a special promposal.

Kae Lin Whiton (11), an emcee for Midtown, carried out her regular duties for most of the Friday but also got to play a part in the promposal. Disguised as a uniform halftime game, participants were asked to crawl on the floor and search for a Hamber Athletics shirt. Everyone playing the game except the recipient of the promposal knew about the plan beforehand. “We brought them out on the gym floor and told them as soon as the music starts you have to take off your blindfold and come off the floor,” Whiton said.

When only Genisha Yang (12) was left crawling around the gym floor, she was informed that she could take off her blindfold. This revealed Shaun Carino (12) waiting to prompose to her. “It was really surprising to me because I thought I was playing a halftime game, but when I opened my eyes, I was so shocked to see him standing there,” Yang said. “I’ve been dating him for three years, so I was wondering when he was going to prompose to me!”

Since next year’s Midtown will be held in the new school, Mr. Sehmbi noted that students can expect some exciting changes to the tournament. “We’ve gotten really good at delivering this tournament, so that’s why next year, we are excited to kind of change it a bit and make some new stuff happen in the new school,” he said.

Midtown SNOWdown

REVIEW | Five Fusion Restaurants in Vancouver

A Guide to the Pronounciation of Musqueam and Squamish Place Names Around Vancouver