On Jan. 12, Gamble Gym rumbled with a crescendo of cheers and chants as Upper School students gathered for the Student Athletic Leadership Council (SALC)’s first pep rally of 2024, which included hype videos created by winter sports teams, performances by the Varsity Dance Team and the long-awaited dodgeball game between coaches and winter team captains.

The pep rally was organized by SALC’s Spirit Committee — composed of seniors Annie High, Irina Alsoufiev, Jesse Benitez and Henry McDonald and juniors Catie Sabbag, Justyce Icart, Luciana Piro and Ashley Kim — to celebrate athletes at Poly and promote school spirit.

In preparation for this event, SALC held several planning meetings, contacted coaches and communicated with team captains.

Coach and SALC advisor Charlene Beerman said, “I thought it went well. It’s fun. Dance Team was awesome, I always love watching them, and I like the dance they did. The videos were cute. Dodgeball game was fun!” Emphasizing the Spirit Committee’s independence in designing each pep rally, she added, “It’s fun for them to be creative and try to change it up. Sometimes they’ve done skits; it could be anything!”

The hype videos creatively featured the winter athletes, ranging from comedy shows to comical clips spliced together with instrumental music.

“I really enjoyed seeing all the hype videos. I always love seeing what teams come up with and watching everyone cheer,” shared High.

The Dance Team performed first to “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X and then to “Underwater” by Meghan Trainor and Dillon Francais.

“My personal favorite part of the pep rally was the Dance Team’s performance,” shared junior Julia Lai. “They always work so hard, and it’s just so cool to see their versatility as dancers and their ability to seamlessly switch from a hip hop dance to a jazz funk pom routine. Plus, ‘Industry Baby’ is one of my favorite songs, and I feel like it was just so fitting for the pep rally.”

The pep rally ended with the dodgeball game, with team captains and coaches pitted against each other. The team captains emerged victorious as students cheered from the bleachers.

Ultimately, the purpose of the pep rally was to bring students together and get them excited for the winter season.

“The atmosphere at the pep rally was super fun and set the tone for future sports events,” shared Icart, who also plays on the varsity basketball team. “I hope we can start getting consistent turnouts like that for games.”