From March 10 to March 21, the 2027 Class Council hosted the annual Futsal Tournament, with teams playing every day during lunch in the gym. Futsal is a unique variation of soccer, in which the outdoor pitch is moved to an indoor playing area around the size of a basketball court, which is a perfect size for Jefferson’s gymnasium. The games happened every day until only two teams remained. These final two teams then played each other in a championship game. Games were played by teams of three versus three players, and teams were eliminated as soon as they lost.
“I know there [are] a lot of talented soccer players in this school.” class of 2027 Vice President Tony Wang said. “We wanted to [host] this tournament so we could let them shine, show people in the school their talent and let them meet other people in the school that play soccer as well.”
The goal of the tournament was to allow the soccer players of Jefferson to engage in a fun but competitive tournament, as well as for non-soccer players to discover a new sport and get active. The tournament also presented itself as an opportunity for students to get physical activity, rather than sitting around and doing nothing during lunch time.
“I didn’t have to make any sacrifices to my day by participating since it was held during lunch,” freshman Mezas Tiwari said. “I also found out that school sports can be fun even during the day.”
The 2027 Class Council believes that the tournament went well overall and has improved upon some of the tournaments from previous years.
“Most of the time, [the games] went well. It was really engaging [and] all of the players were working hard and scoring goals,” Wang said. “One problem, in sports and especially soccer, is that [players] argue with the referees. This year, we seemed to [be able to] control it more, even though it happens all the time.”
Despite the success in organization of the tournament, students who participated experienced some problems with it. One being, that the scheduling for the games was subject to a lot of change. Games were often delayed, shortened or even cancelled.
“The quantity and length of the games was a problem, because a lot of games did end up getting postponed or just cancelled. I think more people would have enjoyed it if the games always happened when they were supposed to,” Tiwari said.
One of the goals of the tournament—bringing in non-soccer players to participate in the tournament—seemed to have been fulfilled. The tournament brought in dozens of players from all grades with different athletic backgrounds, including students who have never been in any high school sports.
“I liked the overall appeal of [the tournament], and the players participated in a good competitive spirit, they weren’t overzealous or anything,” Tiwari said. “As someone who wasn’t a soccer player before playing in the tournament, this is definitely a sport I [enjoyed] playing, and [I] would like to play more.”