Riverside Secondary is known for its outstanding sports teams and athleticism. During lunch, for 45 minutes, various students compete in an in-school tournament called Intramurals. Teams are formed with friends and peers to win the competition. The program itself is organized by PE teacher, Mr. Jeremy Neufeld.
Volleyball intramurals finished Wednesday, November 7, and the successful team in first place was built of grade 9, 11 and 12 Riverside students, Emily Wezeman, Lauren Trudeu, Keimi Cuellar, Jaime Hewlett, Jesse Lee and Sophia Wong. Grade 9 player Jaime Hewlett is content on how her teammates and herself communicated during the competition. “My teammates and I competed well together during the competition and I would definitely play in a team with the same players again. The final was very tough, and the final scores were super close, (25-22),” said Hewlett.
Other teams did excellent in the volleyball intramurals as well. Grade 11 Riverside student and volleyball player, Luka Mladenovic, shares how he felt about his team. “We made it to the finals and finished in top four. Win or lose, it was fun to compete against other talented teams in a mini-school tournament. The encouragement we had for each other was amazing, regardless of each other’s skills and abilities,” said Mladenovic. He also spoke about how he felt as an individual player. “I believe I did very well because when you have the chance to play with friends and people you have a good relationship with, it makes it even better. I felt as if I made a big impact on my team.”
Basketball intramurals began Tuesday, November 20, and the teams are hard-working and dedicated to competing and winning against each other. Grade 9 Riverside student and basketball player, Abdul Amara, has his team prepared and confident for the competition. The players on the team include grade 9’s and 10’s. Soheil Hashemi, Victor Taranu, Amtoje Grewal, John Franca and Ali Ghane. “I’m confident that my teammates and I are going to win the competition because I know that we are all good basketball players and we are dedicated to the sport,” said Amara. He went on to explain how his priorities fit in with his basketball passion. “Even though I have school and other priorities, basketball is one of the most important things to me because it’s what I love doing.”
Intramurals are useful for the players to have more experience with the sports they love and compete at a high level, without trying out for an official school team. It is a great way to spend lunch and it is much healthier than spending the 45 minutes on your phone.
