Photo courtesy of Brennan Ungerleider ’29
For EA’s girls fall varsity athletes, preparing for AIS Day extends far beyond strategic game plans and physical conditioning. On the days leading up to these exciting competitions, team bonding can be seen through a series of rituals as old as the rivalry itself. From getting ready at dawn with blue and white face paint to funny hairdos, these traditions show school pride and spark school spirit throughout the entire student body.
For the girls’ teams, pre-game bonding starts in the early hours of Friday, where the entire team gathers to style hair, apply blue and white face paint, and start getting hyped for the day. The entire school feels the importance of these rituals, and they bring energy to everyone participating or watching AIS Day.
Girls soccer captain Devon Stewart ’27 describes the morning as an event like no other. “Face painting and doing the hair has become just a full-on tradition,” Stewart says. “It’s a way for all the girls to connect before the game and hype each other up, and I think it contributes to the whole day and representing EA and our colors and the stripes.”
For the girls soccer team, Stewart plays an important role in the tradition. “Every year I’ve been the face painter,” Stewart says. “I think just getting ready with everyone in the bathroom—it’s so chaotic. It’s so early in the morning, but everyone has so much energy. Being with all the other teams in the bathroom, but we’re all coming together for this one day; I think it’s just super unique.”
For tennis captain Olivia Olson ’27, getting ready together in the morning is all about the team bonding. “Last year I think we got to [the captain’s] house at 4:45 in the morning,” Olson comments. “I was the team braider, so I was going around braiding everyone’s hair. One of the current juniors, Kayla Krasnick ’28, has the perfect sized hand for the handprints that we normally do, so she goes around slapping her hand on people’s faces… Everybody would take turns waiting to essentially be slapped by her…She’s like the team hand printer.”
These morning routines also give underclassmen a chance to bond with older teammates. Girls cross country captain Kendra Williamson ’27 remembers how much her seasoned teammates helped her out when she was newer to the team. “One of my favorite memories was getting there early with my teammate as a freshman when I didn’t really know what to expect,” Williamson recalls. “It was the seniors helping me do my hair and telling me, ‘It’s going to be fun, just have fun today.’”
Field hockey captain Dominique Barrist ’27 points out that face painting is something everyone shares with their opponents. “I think it brings EA and Agnes Irwin together in this one shared tradition because we both do it,” Barrist explains. “Obviously we’re competing against each other, but it’s this one shared thing that we both experience together.”
Assistant Athletic Director Katie Duffie watches from the side, seeing how getting ready hypes up the whole campus. “It seems to bring a lot of school spirit to the group,” Duffie notes. “Whatever sport you play, it’s very natural for your team to become really close. But rivalry day is an opportunity where all of the teams seem to get on the same page and really come together.”
Girls cross country Head Coach Eric Mundy agrees, seeing how much energy these traditions bring to the competition. “I think face painting and T-shirt making goes the next step of not just wearing the EA uniform, but sort of putting on almost a battle suit,” Mundy says. “We love our team and our teammates, and we’re gonna go that extra mile for the school, for our team, and for each other.”
Long after all the face paint and eye black washes off, and the hair is untied, the memories made during AIS/Haverford Weekend stick around, successfully keeping the school spirit, and traditions of the season, alive until next year.