Rich Palazzese ’14: With its new leadership appointments, the Episcopal Academy Parent Association Athletic Association (EAPAAA) is commencing its second year of work. Chris McNeal ’14 was voted in as the president of the association to be accompanied by Vice Presidents Mike Watkins ’14 and Lolo Lomax ’14. According to Lomax, the EAPAAA’s main goal is to, “create as much school spirit as possible and get the best attendance [at school sponsored sporting events] as possible.” McNeal echoed, “As an organization, we are looking to raise awareness about big games.” The EAPAAA was formed last year promote school camaraderie within athletics at EA. Watkins described how the group approached this task, “We are really trying to make the games more enjoyable and attractive so that more people will want to go.
Night games are the ideal atmosphere for promoting school spirit. For example, the EA-Caravel football game was deemed a success by many in the community. “It was such a memorable night to be a part of,” elaborated Connor Martin ’14, another member of the EAPAAA. “We hope to create that atmosphere with some other sports this year.”
The EAPAA does strive to make all the sports equally as entertaining. Watkins admitted, “Some sports naturally attract people, which is hard to avoid, but we are really trying to increase attendance at other events as well.” Lomax agreed, stating, “Our goal is to equalize support for all teams.”
One of the main tasks for the EAPAAA for the upcoming weeks is to prepare for EA-Haverford-AIS Weekend. One of the highlights of the weekend every year is the bonfire held the Thursday night before the games. Lomax excitedly shared, “There has been talk about moving the bonfire to Friday night after the girls’ games.” The thought behind moving the ritual is to accommodate more participants. In years past, the athletes would generally not be able to attend the bonfire because of practice commitments. If the bonfire is indeed moved to Friday, the hope is that more athletes could enjoy the night’s festivities.
President McNeal reassured, “The decisions we make are in the best interest of our school. We are truly looking for more ways to promote EA athletes and school spirit. Go Blue and White!”