Two competitors taking part in the competitive relay race at the Storm the Wall event held last Thursday at Osoyoos Secondary School strain to try and reach for the top of the 10-foot wall. The Storm the Wall event was combined with an outdoor track meet as the entire student body took part in a full day of competition and good times. (Keith Lacey photo)
Talk about going out with a bang, not a whimper.
Every June for the past four years, the students and staff at Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) have held an outdoor track meet and separate Storm the Wall competition – which sees students work together to get their fellow students over a 10-foot wall.
John Seminoff, a longtime teacher as OSS, participated in Storm the Wall competitions when he was attending the University of British Columbia in the Lower Mainland and he has brought the event to OSS the past four years.
This year, Seminoff and his fellow teachers at OSS, decided to combine the outdoor track meet with the Storm the Wall competition and it was a huge success.
For those students who didn’t compete in the Storm the Wall event, which included a short swim, short bike sprint, a running sprint and one-kilometre run before “storming the wall”, there was a four-on-four volleyball tournament, frisbee toss, three-legged races, soccer shootout, home run hitting contest and other fun events.
“We decided to change this up this year and combine our regular year-end outdoor track meet with the Storm the Wall event and it couldn’t have worked out any better,” said Seminoff.
“The Storm the Wall event was there for the kids who are more serious about athletics and we had a ton of fun events at the outdoor track meet to keep all of the other students busy and having fun.
“The main focus was to get the entire student body together one final time to have some fun and share a lot of laughs and school spirit..”
Not only did almost every one of the more than 240 students at OSS take part in the Storm the Wall and/or outdoor track meet, but all of the teaching faculty were on hand as they started races, marked down times, helped students over the wall, cheered on the competitors and shared in all of the fun over a very hectic day.
A total of 23 teams of five competed in the Storm the Wall event.
The overall individual winner was Devon Mazzei, who completed the entire course by himself in 18:20.
“That was the fastest time, by far, for any individual in the four years we’ve been doing this,” said Seminoff. “Devon is an exceptional athlete and he just flew through the entire course and still had plenty left to climb the 10-foot wall without too much effort at all.”
Finishing in second place was Antonio Mora, with a time of 19:37.
Braelyn Robinson was the top girl and finished third overall with an impressive time of 20:41.
The winning boys team included Cole Rezka (swim), Justin Davis (sprint), Amritpla Auzla (bike) Simrandeep Brar (run) and Simrit Gill (wall). They finished in a time of 18:57.
The top girls team include Janessa Silva (swim), Emelie Agostino (sprint), Chelsey Bridgment (bike), Natalia Ibanez (run) and Juliana Riznek (wall). They finished in a time of 23:05.
The top co-ed team included Lianne Shiels (swim), Sarah Launier (sprint), Devon Mazzei (bike), Caitlyn Toepfer (run) and Amira Awad (wall). They finished in a time of 23:20.
With the pending closure of OSS, Seminoff said he wanted to invite student leaders from Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver to check out the event and a team of 12 students from that school participated and had a blast.
SOSS vice-principal Tracy Harrington and teacher Alison Podmorrow also competed
“They were so impressed and they made it very clear they want this event to continue at SOSS next year,” he said. “We really appreciated all of them coming down to check out our event. We’re very proud of how popular the Storm the Wall event has become at our school and they made it very clear it will continue at SOSS next year.”
Seminoff said the Storm the Wall event and outdoor track meet was the perfect way for the student body to spend time together two weeks before OSS closes its doors for the final time.
“There’s a great spirit of camaraderie amongst the kids at this school and this was a great way to let them spend one final day together having fun,” he said. “The Storm the Wall event has been a big success every year since we started doing it, so it’s a really good way to say goodbye.”
Seminoff wanted to thank Frances Sologuk, the owner of Osoyoos Home Hardware, for donating the paint used to paint the wall, and the Osoyoos Credit Union for providing a cash donation to help pay for the food to feed the students over the course of a very busy day.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Osoyoos Secondary School students compete in a three-legged race last Thursday during the Storm the Wall event. (Keith Lacey photo)
There were a lot of wipeouts, but plenty of laughs as three-legged races were part of the fun at the outdoor track meet held at Osoyoos Secondary School last Thursday. (Keith Lacey photo)
John Seminoff, the veteran OSS teacher who brought the Storm the Wall event to Osoyoos, helps a competitor over the wall. Seminoff is pleased the event will continue at SOSS in Oliver next year. (Keith Lacey photo)
A young student is all smiles as he wipes out after hitting the water slide. (Keith Lacey photo)
