On February 2, 2022, Parker School’s Student Council resumed the 2021-22 X Games, marking the start of the 2nd semester of this year-long tournament. To ease everyone back into competition, the squads competed head-to-head in modified capture the flag, inspired by the game that had been played previously at Upper School Campout in November 2021. While every X Games is bound to have some unexpected obstacles, this particular day presented a few surprises that made the competition more exciting and enjoyable for everyone.
For the past seven months, Student Council has been rallying sponsors, revising designs, and coordinating with school administrators to purchase custom X Games shirts for the 236 middle and upper school students participating in the tournament. After a local business—Big Island Art Fair—reached out to Student Council in December 2021 and committed to fund a large portion of the shirt manufacturing costs, the goal of producing shirts for every student was finally in sight. After receiving more donations from the Parker School Parent Teacher Student ‘Ohana organization through the form of ‘Ohana grants, Student Council raised enough money to bring this goal into fruition. We had high hopes of receiving the shipment of shirts before the February 2nd X Games, and we were lucky enough to unbox and distribute them the morning of competition. With 16 different-colored shirts, the squads are now recognizable in competition—furthering rivalries, alliances, and school spirit.
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
Emily Atkins and Tegan Price, members of the Red Centaurs wearing their custom X Game squad shirts.
For modified capture the flag, every team was tasked with hiding their banner—which was made by the squads themselves back in September 2021—somewhere on campus. While I had drafted up restricted hiding places—such as under buildings, in the parking lot, and in tall trees—I had neglected to remember some other perilous locations. Teams were quick to hide their banners on rooftops, in gutters, and other hard to reach places. When drafting up plans for the competition, all of the rules seemed logical to make the game last the entire X Block. 236 students searching for 16 banners on Parker’s small campus sounds like a fair and orderly event, right? In short, the February 2nd X Games taught me that logic and reason when planning does not always guarantee a successful activity. In actuality, the event resulted in 236 students wandering back and forth across campus, searching for banners that seemed to be impossible to find. Kudos to the students who hid the banners because you all did an impeccable job at your task. After only five banners were found with about five minutes left in X block, I decided to make the call that every team needed to find the secret person to solidify their place in the competition. In reality, the secret person was simply my dad, Mr. Koranda, waiting in the library for squads to show up and confirm their placement. By the end of X Block, 11 of the 16 teams had arrived at the library—where the secret person patiently awaited them.
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
The Navy Sirens confirm their placement with Mr. Koranda.
In retrospect, the modified capture the flag X Games gave me a ton of information to consider moving forward with this tournament to ensure that the competition is fair, engaging, and timely for future events. In my eyes, I call that day a success because it provided me with a better understanding of what this tournament’s purpose is in the school community and how I can better fashion activities to suit the circumstances and obstacles moving forward. With only a little over three months of school left, the first ever Parker School X Games will be coming to a close before we know it. That being said, there’s still more opportunities for every squad to earn more points and rise to the top. This competition is far from over.
X Games will return one March 30, 2022.
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
PHOTO BY KENZIE PAJINAG
Afterword: There are still more banners hidden on campus, so good luck finding them! :)
Thank you to Acacia Blyth and Elwin Futrell-Shotts for helping coordinate the X Games. Thank you to Auntie Maile and Mr. Delgado for organizing the sponsorship and production of the shirts.
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