Katie Stankard

Join me as I explore a new club every other week at Tuscarora. Let’s go clubbing!

On November 11th, I had the pleasure of being an honorary French Club member, for their annual Franco-Prussian Games.

Waking up that morning, I hoped that the French gods would bless me with a little beret, or fluency in the “language of love.” I was given none of these things, and my day went like every other school day, until 3:48 p.m., the start of the annual Franco-Prussian Games, hosted by the German and French clubs.

After school, the 143 year-old rivalry between France and Germany was reignited. Initially, I had pictured a few club members quietly playing chess on the side of the Seine, maybe with mimes dancing around. But instead, the first event to take place was crab soccer.

Once I saw the athletic ability and determination displayed by the French and German club members, I became a little nervous, and regretted my outfit for the day, which was neither stylish nor appropriate.

Crab soccer consisted of teams of five kicking around a little white beach ball in “crab position.” If you are unfamiliar with crab position, think back to your elementary school days where you were forced into P.E. participation by crawling on you hands and feet with your butt dragging along. I was not looking forward to reminiscing back to my crab soccer days, but it turned out to be one of the most intense games I have ever played or watched. After I was almost trampled by one die-hard German club member, the game tied at 1-1.

Following  the exciting game of  crab soccer, my French skills were put to the test (unfortunately, I don’t exactly have any skills to test when it comes to French). The game was called “Chair Directions,” and it involved yelling directions at a blindfolded person in a rolling chair. Commands included left, right or forward (or gauche, droite and avant, in French). The race track included the length of the L200, and half of the L500, L400, L300 hallways.

Having been quickly briefed on how to say each direction in French, I sat down and mentally prepared for the fierce competition to come. In short, it was very evident that I did not prepare enough.

Come the time for the relay to be passed off, I promptly forgot my minimal French skills and tried to not to hit anything to the best of my ability. The crowd ooh-ed and aww-ed. I would have to guess it was not due to my exceptional performance, but because I smashed into a wall every other second.  The Germans won, leaving the overall score a tie.

Other games that were played were: a violent game of musical chairs, a super-sonic rug relay, and to end, a ping pong crate toss. The Germans accumulated the most points by the end of the games, bringing a win to Deutschland.

I had an absolutely amazing time at the Franco-Prussian Games. If you are taking French or German, I would highly recommend joining these clubs and their future events. The language department also hosted an interlanguage soccer tournament on November 18, after school. I would like to thank the French Club for allowing me to participate in their exciting games.