BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

A track season to never forget

By Alexis Westlake, British International School of Houston, School Buzz Reporter | May 3, 2021

Click the Buzz Me button to receive email notifications when this writer publishes a new article or a new article in this column is published.

(Left to right) Alexis, Viola, and Maia compete at a track meet hosted by BIS Houston.

After a long wait, February 8 finally identified the first official day of Middle School track and field at the British International School of Houston with the following day being the start for High School. This marked an exciting week for each team member and coach. Unfortunately, the following week BIS Houston had to endure the winter storm resulting in the entire week of both in-person and online school to be cancelled on account of power outages and water issues. Soon after, students and teachers were off for half term break, resulting in another 2 weeks lost of an already short track and field season.

Nonetheless, the coaches continued to push forward. Despite the circumstances, they were able to provide students with fun and tough training for each event and were able to attend a couple of meets that every team member was able to take part in. In addition, the coaches were also able to provide an at-home training schedule for any student unable to attend in person.

BIS Houston was able to compete against various schools such as The Village School, St. John’s, the Lutheran School, and others. The team to competed in various events, like Long jump, High Jump, Shot put, Discus and a variety of lengths for races. During the meets the coaches of all participating schools were amazing at keeping the track meets fun whilst still following the Covid safety guidelines provided by school directories.

“While track and field was a lot different than last year in terms of practices and competitions, I still had a ton of fun. I was really excited to be able to do more meets than last year and even though we had to observe COVID-19 protocol the whole time, we were still able to get to know the other athletes from other schools. I didn’t get to go to State but I am still excited to compete again next year,” said Viola H., a Year 11 student.

Additionally, the high school track team were able to finish off their season by attending the TAPPS Varsity District Track and Field meet, taking place on April 14 and 15. Each student that attended was able to compete in their best events and have a lot of fun in the process.

Although this year has been different from normal, BIS Houston was able to provide students with an amazing track season, while being safe and cautious.