PO‘IPU — How do you get the price of a 3-cheese pizza without entering the restaurant? That was one of the questions posed to the Kaua‘i High School boys cross country team, Monday at the Po‘ipu Beach Park. Coach Erin
PO‘IPU — How do you get the price of a 3-cheese pizza without entering the restaurant?
That was one of the questions posed to the Kaua‘i High School boys cross country team, Monday at the Po‘ipu Beach Park.
Coach Erin Dunn described the event, a practice run/trash pick up, as the boys’ annual altruistic project as all of the boys and their parents turned out Monday evening.
“We just wanted to make things fun,” Dunn said. “This was a tradition started when Debbie Engdahl, now Debbie Bail, was coach.”
During the course of the evening, the boys donned sanitary gloves and picked up trash bags for a 3.5-mile run starting at the park, moving up Pe‘e Road, doubling back along Po‘ipu Road and Ho‘owili Road before reaching the park.
“While the boys are out on the course, this gives enough time so the parents can watch the mandatory video, and there are some things that I cover with them about the program,” Dunn said.
To make the event even more interesting, Dunn said she added the scavenger hunt aspectso the boys would be utilizing their intelligence instead of just picking up trash and avoiding cars.
Tie breakers included bags having the most cigarette butts, the largest piece of green waste, the largest piece of plastic, and the most overall rubbish as determined by visual inspection by the judges.
Adding pens to the inventory of items carried out of the park, the boys were also asked to determine the number of mailboxes along the route, the number of speed bumps on the route, and list five resorts and three restaurants located along the route.
Among the more serious aspects of the practice, the boys and their parents were allowed an opportunity to vote on a supporter shirt, the first time one has been made available to the cross country team.
“These are the designs approved by principal Linda Smith,” said Fred Sasan, one of the team coaches.
The parent meeting’s end coincided with the boys returning from their 3.5-mile tour and parents and runners mingled over dinner and awards based on the criteria set up before the run.
The Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation cross country season will be previewed with the Waimea High School Invitational meet in early September.
“We’ll be there,” Dunn said. “But it’s an optional event for the boys.”
