Eight volunteers came out Monday, December 16th at lunch to slam it off in the gym using innovative ways, for the Slam Dunk contest, emceed by Taylor Bamford. Some, including Lucas Kirk, Jack Macdonald and Justin Russel, stepped on other participants backs to gain the height needed. Others, okay, only Max Ellwood, used their abilities in gymnastics to gain more points, cartwheeling and flipping their way towards the basketball. Then, of course, there were those, Colin Stroh, Ryan Marquardt, Mark Dykstra and Jack Matthews, who used more classical methods, with the occasional use of the backboard or the aid of a friend to throw the ball towards them. All of the contestants were given two rounds with two tries each to slam dunk the ball into the hoop. They were judged by Mrs. Oliver, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Annandale and Mr. Johnstone on a scale of 1 to 10 for each dunk. By the end of both rounds, it became evident that Colin Stroh and Justin Russel would battle it out for first place. After a surprise practice round, where both contestants performed better, they both had a chance to show of their skills with Colin Stroh winning with an almost perfect score. Both of the finalists received T-shirts as their prize.

Aamenah Meghjee

for the first session taking place today. They were coached in volleying and serving by Coach Burgess and approximately 10 other Junior and Senior volleyball players. The fee for the classes, running through December, January and February, is $100 which includes training, equipment and a T-shirt. Overall, Coach Burgess is pretty pleased with the group of girls, mentioning that there is "lots of athleticism and a lot of them can serve overhand which is always a good sign.".

Aamenah Meghjee

Though the football team didn't manage to win their provincials this year, our Senior girls volleyball team certainly did. Coached by Mr. Burgess, they played the Earl Marriott Mariners once again for gold, winning 3 - 1. In the first set, the Sundevils led the game with 6 points until the Mariners gained the lead, keeping it until the end of the set. The Sundevils also gained the lead in the second set, but unlike the last one, they managed to keep that lead for the entire game. There was a brief moment of tension in the crowd as Earl Marriott neared South Delta at 22 points, but it didn't last long as South Delta won 25 - 23. It seemed we only needed one win to get our spirits going as the team won the next two sets 25 -19 and 25 - 19. During the third set, the Sundevils had a 6 point lead before the Mariners managed to make a point. Then, near the middle of the game, there was a 10 point difference in the score. The last game was also a bit nerve-wracking as the Mariners made 2 points while the Sundevils had 24 points, making the score 24 - 19. At last, our players made a point, winning gold in the AAAA Provincial Championships in Penticton, BC. Nicole McNamara was named the tournament's MVP while her sister Megan McNamara and captain Christine Howlett were 1st team All-Stars. As the Delta Optimist said, the Sundevils are in an excellent position to win gold in Provincials for the third time next year with 7 players planning on returning in 2014.

Aamenah Meghjee