On Friday, Jan. 27, at Bonita Vista High (BVH) during lunch, the spring sports showcase was held by the Associated Student Body (ASB). Many sports were featured such as track and field, gymnastics, swim and dive, boys volleyball and more. Students were able to sign up for these different sports and talk to members of the teams to get a better understanding of what the sport is about and see what they would like to get involved in. 

“People want to see more sports and [we want to] get more people involved with them so it can be fun,” ASB Athletics Commissioner and senior Noah Burke said. “I have seen a couple [of] people go out to see and get information [to] sign up for new sports to play so I think it is going to help out [the sports teams] a lot.”

Track and field encouraged students to sign up since the new track stadium was recently added at BVH. Students can use and have availability at the stadium for practices and other sports. It would be a new and welcomed development to all the sports who use the stadium. 

“I think it’s really encouraging this year because we actually have a track and it’s brand new,” track and field captain and senior AJ Gamboa said. “Before we had a dirt track so it wasn’t really appealing, but since this year we have one everyone’s a lot more interested in doing track and the other field events.”

Gamboa and other track and field captain and senior Isaiah Chappell express how with the new track, they are now able to hold meets and practices at BVH rather than at other schools such as Otay Ranch High which can encourage more students to sign up.

“It’s just better accessibility [which] is really important. It allows more opportunities for teams and individuals. We can gather more easily, and we do not have to worry about the logistics of practices or meets anymore,” Chappell said.

Other than track and field, gymnastics shows its contribution to the showcase by informing students on the specifics of how the gymnastics team will work. The gymnastics team is not only the gymnastics team for BVH but for any students in the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD).

“We’ve had a lot of interest from people that are curious because I don’t think they have ever heard of our gymnastics team. So that’s the one thing that I wanted to get out of this was for people to understand that we do have a gymnastics team at this school,” varsity gymnastics captain and senior Maya Loughney said.

Loughney, Chappell and Gamboa share their appreciation for the showcase as it was able to present what different sports at BVH have to offer. To encourage students to join, they also share the uniqueness of their sports and how competitive and intense it is. 

“I think what’s really cool about our specific sport is that because we’re a high school team for jv– unlike other sports–you don’t really have to have prior experience. You don’t have to be doing gymnastics for years to make it on the team,” Loughney said. “If somebody just wants to try out a new sport, it’s kind of hard in high school usually. But I think that’s the cool thing about gymnastics.”

Sports like gymnastics and lacrosse provide students with how to play the sport and support students in learning and starting new sports. The diverse sports at BVH have many different things to offer to students. 

This showcase was able to present the aspects of the spring sports that may entice students to sign up and try out their sports as there may be changes from last season in sports like track and field. Burke also shares how the organization of this event was to promote and encourage students to learn and sign up for these sports and try new things. 

“I would say, just go for [it] and to try out and just have fun. Sports aren’t supposed to be taken too seriously unless you are trying to get a scholarship. I just play sports for fun,” Burke said. “I think it is a fun way to communicate and just have an overall high school experience.”