Daily Archives: October 15, 2014

Should Cheshire High School Have a Gymnastics Team?

  Gymnastics is a sport that many people are involved in or want to be involved in. That is why many towns have a high school gymnastics team for girls to participate in. High school gymnastics teams are a good idea because it offers another opportunity for girls in high school to get involved. High school gymnastics teams have a couple practices after school each week and several gymnastics meets on weekends as well as week days. However the gymnastics practices do not interfere with academics. Anyone is allowed to come and cheer on the high school gymnasts at their meets and show their school spirit. These are only a few of the many benefits that come with having a high school gymnastics team.

You do have to have a few specific skills to make the team as you would for any other school sport. However the required skills are rather simple so it’s not too hard for most gymnasts to make the team. Girls on high school gymnastics teams enjoy it because they get to be with their friends, they learn how to work as a team, and high school gymnastics is more about getting into it and trying your hardest rather than winning. This helps because there is not as much pressure as there would be when you are on a normal competitive gymnastics team. It is also convenient for parents because the practices are right after school so they don’t have to leave work early to bring they daughter to practice and it is also free. Some girls don’t have the chance to do gymnastics because it can be very costly and their parents might not be able to drive them. I think Cheshire High School should have a gymnastics team because it teaches girls to work as a team, it’s convenient for students and parents, and it gives girls another opportunity to get involved.

~Gabby

The College Football Playoff: A Trial Run For the Ages

 

For many years, NCAA Division I college football fans have been begging for a playoff system in the “postseason,” and this year, their wish is being granted. Starting this season, Division I FBS college football will have a mini “playoff” at the end of the year, with the four best teams in the nation (as voted upon by a selection committee made up of experienced officials) playing in a semifinal, followed by the championship game for the two winners. Leading up to the playoff, starting on October 28th, weekly rankings will be created by the same committee, listing the best 25 teams in the country in order. The old system, which was made up of one championship game in which the two teams were selected by a computer program, is different from the new system, in which the selection committee does it all without any help from computers. They only use necessary data and  their own personal observations/opinions to make their decisions. I have called this a “trial run for the ages” because if this new system doesn’t pan out well, it will most likely be reverted back to the previous method, much to the dismay of pretty much everyone.

I am a big fan of the college football playoff for most of the same reasons as everyone; it is more fair, exciting, and we get to watch more football. As I previously stated, unlike the old championship scenario, the teams involved in the playoff will be selected by real, experienced people, not computers. This allows unimportant and irrelevant information to be excluded from the decision, which wouldn’t be possible with computers. For us, we just get to watch more great, high-powered football as well. The semifinal games will be played on New Year’s Eve and New Years’ Day, and I don’t know one college football fan that wouldn’t like to end the old year and kick off the new one with exciting and well-matched football. Plus, this new popular system will increase revenue for the NCAA and all of the schools involved. For example, schools that make the playoff will be able to make merchandise for making the semifinal, possibly moving on the championship game, and then potentially winning it all.

Personally, I feel that this new, intriguing system will be a great thing for college football, and it will only continue to grow in these coming years.

~Mark