For the First Time in 65 Years Sportsnite was Shutdown — Like Much of America Due to the Pandemic

Gianna Barberio, Entertainment Editor

On Friday March 13, Wantagh High School’s Sportsnite was supposed to take place in the high school gymnasium. Sportsnite is one of Wantagh’s oldest traditions and this year would have been the sixty-fifth annual event. Sportsnite came about during a time when girls were not allowed to participate in school sports. Even though the rules about girls playing sports have changed, the tradition still remains intact. This tradition is definitely one of the most exciting experiences for a girl at Wantagh High School. 

However, this year Sportsnite took a turn for the worse. 

Due to the Coronavirus it was not safe to have a big crowd of people close to each other in an area because of the risk of someone possibly having the disease. Therefore, we were not allowed to have spectators come and watch the show. However, our advisors, Mrs. Sales and Mrs Browne, athletic director Ms.Keane and Principal Breivogel did everything they could to keep Sportsnite alive. 

They were going to have Sportsnite live streamed for the first time ever! This was not what we were used to but we were very thankful, so we could still show everyone all our hard work we put into this night. Even though this wasn’t what we were used to, we stayed positive. 

Unfortunately, due to this virus, school was canceled on March 13, resulting in Sportsnite also being postponned until further notice. This upset each and every girl on Sportsnite.  Our captains, participants and Mrs. Browne and Mrs, Sales, and it was heart-rending that we were not going to be having Sportsnite.

The week of Sportsnite has always been known as “the best time of the year” to the girls who participate. This week is filled with so much excitement and happiness, but this year it was different. During this time every year, we have three hour long practices in the high school gymnasium in the beginning of the week. Then in the middle of the week we have a dress rehearsal where black and gold get to show each other their dances and cheers we’ve been working on for the past few months. 

Also we have the Sportsnite Volleyball game where both teams scream and cheer their hearts out.  The day before Sportsnite we go to the auditorium 9th period for the pinning ceremony and overall captain speeches. Then there’s Friday, the day of, where all the girls go to East Bay Diner for the first 3 periods of the school day. As you can tell this week if filled with exciting events for the girls who are part of Sportsnite. However, this year was different

However, the Coronavirus entered the United States, changing the norms of American society. This worried everyone involved in Sportsnite due to the chance of school being closed, resulting in Sportsnite being cancelled. On March 11, during dress rehearsal, we were told that Sportsnite might be cancelled. This upset all us girls in so many ways.  But we continued to stay positive and hope for the best. And then it was over. The days and hours of hard work seemed to be for nothing. 

As the news gets worse, and the number of infections increase daily, we still hold out the hope that by some miracle we will return to school and perhaps we could still perform in the gym like we had every previous year since the mid 1950’s. But all of us realize that the situation is terrible and all Americans are making sacrifices in the hope of saving lives and ending the pandemic.