Fierce competition

Make no mistake, the paper football tournament at Sundance Elementary School is no casual afternoon of entertainment. Yells and chants can be heard throughout the building as fifth grade competitors vie for the title of champion.

These days, it’s a Superbowl party just before Sunday’s big match, but it started out as a solution to the problem of cooties. Fifth graders don’t believe in love yet, so Mr. Dobesh and Mr. Olson felt that a Valentine celebration was out of the question and came up with an alternative instead.

The rules are simple: push your paper “football” across the specially designed field and win points for hitting the end zones. Once you’ve reached six points, you get the chance to score a field goal.

The rules are simple; winning is not – this is fiercely competitive territory. Thursday’s afternoon of matches was the fifth time that the kids have enjoyed the tournament, with all the previous champions on hand to act as referees.

After the competitors were whittled down over several rounds, Tel Marchant was crowned this year’s champion in the final match.