As a boarding school, Tabor students are always searching for new, fun ways to spend their weekends. In the past, there was an ongoing “dorm wars” competition in which different dorms were grouped and competed for prizes. This year, however, a new competition replaced this one – the Tabor Cup.
Dorms and day students are organized into eight teams, and students from each team have opportunities to win points for their team at various events throughout the week.
In some cases, points are awarded to teams just based on participation. These include attending games together or having team breakfasts. These are designed to bring students from different dorms together by having them work towards a common goal. These smaller scale events are also meant to boost school spirit, adding an extra incentive for students to go out and support each other by attending games in bigger groups.
Other events follow more traditionally competitive rules. They are judged either by parents’ and alumni votes or by the traditional finishing placement when a certain number of points are awarded to first, second, third place, etc.
The first big Tabor Cup event was the Lip Sync battle, in which groups from different dorm teams took to Hoyt stage to battle each other in their ability to memorize songs and pretend to sing them. Many teams even choreographed routines and practiced ahead of time to make sure they were perfect.
Other events included a Powder-puff Game, in which junior and senior girls play football, Trivia Night, basketball tournaments, cookie bake-offs, ultimate Frisbee tournaments, and more.
“I think the main point of the whole competition is to promote school spirit,” says senior Karen Morahan. “Everyone gets really into the different events. My team held rehearsals before the Lip Sync battle, and we all showed up for team breakfast. Everyone definitely wants to win Tabor Cup, but no matter what, it’s been really fun just competing.” As a proctor in her dorm, Morahan works with the other proctors on her Tabor Cup team to organize team gatherings and make sure everyone participates.
“Tabor Cup kicked off the year great for the senior class,” said senior Thomas Kelly. “It definitely showed the power of the senior class and demonstrated how much school spirit everyone had. It set a standard for how much effort we’re going to put into school events, and I think that the next rounds of Tabor Cup are going to be even more fun because everyone saw how into it people got, and they know how great it can be if everyone puts in the effort.”
The events of Tabor Cup are part of a surge in school spirit before Holderness Day on Saturday, November 14, when Tabor competes against its rival school, Holderness.
There will be two more rounds of Tabor Cup before the year is over, one during each sports season. With everyone excited from this first round, the next rounds promise to be even more exciting.
By Madeleine Gregory
