Kicking off the year with their first meeting, the Multisport Club hosted an arm wrestling tournament on Sept. 18 in Room 3713.
Around 24 total participants and spectators attended the event, where girls and boys took part in their own brackets. The tournament marked a shift from the club’s usual focus on endurance activities such as swimming, running and biking.
“Since endurance sports can seem intimidating at first, we wanted to do a fun activity at school where anyone could participate,” junior and Vice President Annabel Qiu said. ”That way we would have an opportunity to encourage more people to join the club.”
The boys tournament consisted of eight participants. Senior Jeffrey Guo won the final match and senior Benaiah Trevino became the first runner-up.
“My friend told me about the tournament and I thought it would be pretty fun,” Trevino said.
Trevino has been “casually” arm wrestling his friends since sixth grade, and his prior experience in rock climbing put him at a higher advantage than others.
“I was excited going into the match and was surprised with how strong Jeff was,” Trevino said. “But I’m glad I got second place.”
Winners from the boys and girls brackets received goodie bag prizes with Gatorade powder sticks, candy and more. Sophomore Ani Burris-Richardson won the girls bracket despite there only being one other competitor, sophomore Audrey Sioco.
“I was kind of disappointed that there weren’t that many girls,” Burris-Richardson said. “But I felt pretty confident [leading up to the match].”
The tournament required a $1 entry fee to participate – funds that will be used to start the club’s main fundraiser and to purchase better prizes for upcoming events, including biweekly Sunday practices, a planned color run fundraiser and triathlon competitions in October and November.
“If we do [this tournament] next year, we would have more girls competing, better prizes and a better registration system,” Qiu said.
Although most participants entered the tournament without training and for fun purposes, the Multisport Club officers are organizing more formal events by partnering with the OtterTriTeam. Through this partnership, the club plans to enter the Bolivar Live Triathlon, the Brickhouse Tri and Adventure Races and the Oilman Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon in upcoming months.
“We hope that participants and spectators will be encouraged to participate in more multisport events and official competitions,” Qiu said.
To keep up with the Multisport Club, follow them on Instagram at @bhs.multisportclub or join their Remind @bhstridua.
