45 Years in the making: the 2020 PMHS Olympics
According to tradition, the Pelham Memorial High School Olympics started in 1975. In the beginning, the day was simpler and more of a traditional Olympics style. The banners which students today pour hours of work into, were simply class flags back then, and the events were more centered around sports.
But, as the number of students rises each year, so does the demand for new events and opportunities for students. Needless to say, a lot has changed since the tradition first started decades ago.
“A lot of the changes since then were made by my predecessor, Mrs. Regina Ricci, who helped organize and run the Olympics since the 90s,” said Megan Rice, the advisor of the student association, who helps run the festivities. “Mrs. Ricci always tried to add new events to include more and more of the student body, and I have tried to continue that tradition. Since I first started getting involved with the student association, our school enrollment has grown by a lot, which has put more strain on the resources for Olympics.”
As for the students, it has always been one of the most exciting and anticipated days of the school year, involving weeks if not months of planning and creating. Every member of the student body has a chance to participate and unify with their grade.
“Whether you are a dancer, a football player, an artist or a writer there is something for you in Olympics,” said Izzy Anderson, a senior at PMHS. “Olympics teaches us to recognize and appreciate the talent of others, and when people feel valued, they’re encouraged to support the rest of their grade. I also think that the novelty of the experience pushes the involvement. No matter where you go, there is nothing like Olympics anywhere but Pelham.”
No matter what grade or year you graduated, for most studen
ts and alumni, Olympics is a treasured day. It starts new friendships, and even some new rivalries, but at the end of the day it is a celebration that allows each student to laugh, compete and hopefully, have some well deserved fun.
Find more photos of this year’s festivities here!
Julia is currently a senior at Pelham Memorial High School. She loves trying new and interesting foods and reviewing local restaurants. She runs track...
Holly Eaton • Jun 15, 2023 at 6:22 pm
Thank you for this article. I am the person whose idea it was to start the Olympics. I was president of the my class (Class of 77) all four years of high school. (You can check our yearbook for confirmation.) I wanted to start a competition that everyone could participate in, regardless of athletic prowess. My hope was to build class and school spirit and to involve as many students as possible. I am thrilled to see that PMHS has not only maintained the tradition but expanded and improved it! It has exceeded my wildest dreams! I was also the one who started the Silly Walk contest. That first year, the event was supposed to be sometime earlier in the day but, the gym it was scheduled to take place in was occupied at the time, so it got pushed to the end of the entire competition. That was not the plan! So, there I was, the lone competitor for the Junior class. We were tied with the Freshmen and Silly Walks was going to be the deciding event. Winning the Silly Walk contest that first Olympics was one of the proudest moments of my life. I am so thrilled to see that it is still the final event of the competition. I assume the Olympics have were on hiatus during the pandemic. I hope they continue the tradition. The pandemic classes have missed out on so much.