Students from the southern schools in School District 27 (SD27) came out to play ball on Friday, May 23 in Lac La Hache.
Students from Lac La Hache Elementary School who hosted the jamboree faced off against students from 100 Mile Elementary School, Forest Grove Elementary School, as well as, for the first time, Big Lake Elementary School and Likely Elementary School - both located near Williams Lake. The five schools played softball on two softball fields in Lac La Hache, located by the South Cariboo Garlic Festival Grounds, on what proved to be a sunny day.
Mark Lewis, the principal of the Lac La Hache Elementary School, said that the main thing about the jamboree is to do their part for the larger South End schools.
"The kids have got to participate in floor hockey and track and field and cross country in all kinds of sports, and so we're just doing our part to help the competition between the schools stay alive," Lewis said.
The jamboree had consisted of the kids from the five participating elementary schools to mix up with each other to form teams, leading to 10 teams being created: the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Orioles, the Rays and the Blue Jays - as well as the Dodgers, the Padres, the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Giants - split into the American League and National League. Lewis confirmed that it was all based on the MLB (Major League Baseball).
"These kids are playing together for the first time," Lewis added.
The idea for the jamboree came in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, when inter-school sports play had stopped. Last year, principals in the south end of SD27 came together to bring them back.
"We need to restart this. And so each of the schools has taken on one of the sporting events. We had cross country at Horse Lake last month. We'll have track and field in 100 Mile House next month," Lewis noted. "Since we have this double diamond here, it makes it good for us to do (softball)."
Lewis states that the jamboree helps the students with motivation when it comes to their PE classes, as well as helps encourage teamwork.
"One of the things about the jamboree that I really like is it kind of forces the kids to become a team quickly, and so they've got to help organize themselves. They've got to help encourage each other. And it's kind of exciting to kind of get to meet with players from other teams," Lewis said.
One student in particular that Lewis gave a shout-out to was Cadence Speaks, who Lewis described as being really reluctant to play sports.
"She just got a hit and made it all the way home," Lewis stated. "And what a huge moment for her, she's really a reluctant athlete, and she just got a great hit, and I think she's going to be feeling good about herself."
Students in general loved the jamboree, Lewis said, saying that a lot of them would rather play softball than study math or science.
"Especially the ones that are good at it, get a chance to kind of showcase their skills, where maybe they don't get that chance in the classroom all the time," Lewis said.
