UHS’ first pep rally of the school year was hosted on Aug. 25, also signifying the first indoor pep rally since the start of the pandemic. The pep rally consisted of multiple elements including an introduction to UHS fall sports and performances by the UHS Pep Squad and UHS Choir Department.

The pep rally led off with the traditional cheers from each grade followed by a video broadcast welcoming the students back into the gym. The video featured Student Activities Coordinator Daniel Delpassand, detailing how the first pep rally was planned.

“The pep rally was mainly planned by me, Mikey, Aidan and Sydney,” Delpassand said. “We had to coordinate with a lot of different moving pieces, like our technology people handling the lights, choir, band, cheer and all of the sports teams.”

A favorite of the pep rally was the introduction of UHS fall sports teams, featuring their varsity players. This was led by ASB Sports Commissioners Aidan Christie and Sydney Gaw.

“It felt pretty good to introduce the athletes, and I did my best to hype up the sports as much as I could,” Christie said.  “They deserve all the hype they can get after all the hard work they put into their respective sports.” 

The team introductions were followed by a game of “Lightning.” The rules for Lightning are as follows: the person in front of the line has to shoot the basketball into the hoop before the person behind them. If the person behind the player gets the basketball into the hoop before the person in the front, the person in the front gets eliminated. This process carries on as the line moves back and the person who eliminates all others in the line wins. At the pep rally, UHS Varsity Boys’ Cross Country Captain William Boschen won the game.

“The lightning game went pretty well,” Christie said. “There were hiccups here and there, but overall it went fairly smoothly, and I’ve heard good reviews from people watching the game, so I think it went well.” 

The event ended with the performance of the Alma Mater by the UHS Vocal Department which was rearranged and introduced last year by UHS Choral Director Rob Blaney with a goal of reintroducing a long-lasting UHS tradition during sport-related events.

As the first pep rally has now come to a close, Christie, Delpassand and the rest of the Associated Student Body hope to further bring the Trojan Spirit into the UNIverse for the rest of the school year. 

“The first pep rally was amazing, and now we know how to prepare for future pep rallies more efficiently and make them run more smoothly,” Christie said. “This experience under our belts is only going to make future pep rallies more organized and [have] more hype for everyone involved.”