Late Tuesday afternoon, the Braswell administration canceled the highly anticipated 2023 Senior Kickball Tournament due to concerns that the playing fields would be too muddy or wet to safely carry out gameplay.

“I know many are disappointed, as am I,” Dr. Anna Seibert, faculty, said in a post on the Class of 2023 Braswell High School Parent group on Facebook. “The decision is in the best interest of all involved.”

Seibert’s post has been host to several comments from parents of seniors who are concerned that the administration’s actions were premature.

“Kickball should have been simply moved to the same location as the football game, aka the turf field, to guarantee a successful event” , Shannan Macias, parent, said in a comment under the original post announcing the cancellation. “These kids were passionate about their activity of choice. The school admins should appreciate that and simply relocate it.”

Other parents in the Facebook group voiced concerns about their students’ disappointment, as well as the time and money previously invested in preparation for the event.

“Kickball during school hours is something the seniors were looking forward to… because it was during the school day,” Jennifer Anderson Bigley, parent, said in the 2023 parents’ Facebook group. “Whoever canceled this needs to know our kids are disappointed and now feel like they have wasted precious time coordinating practices and making team t-shirts.”

Braswell students expressed similar thoughts immediately after the cancellation announcement.

“I took a lot of time trying to network and find people to join my team,” Enya Thompson, 12, said. “It was a lot of coordinating and planning and we were looking forward to it, and I feel like all of that went to waste when the tournament was canceled.”

Students like Napoleon Herrera, 12, had participated in the 2022 Kickball Tournament a semester prior, and had high expectations leading up to the tournament.

“For me, as well as I’m sure the other participants, it was just sad and disappointing considering how hyped up it was and how much everyone wanted to play,” Herrera said. “I think it could’ve been planned better, or possibly have been rescheduled to the weekend so that the people that wanted to play, still could.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Jada Inanga, 12, expressed her disappointment over the cancellation.

“It’s disappointing because as a senior that’s been dedicated to school throughout this year, I feel like we should be rewarded,” Inanga said. “That was one of the many things I was looking forward to and I’m very sad about it being canceled. I feel like we deserved that day to have fun and celebrate with our peers.”

Braswell will follow the normal bell schedules. Seniors will still be eligible for off-campus lunch during third period, as long as their parent permission slip form was turned in by the due date, and seniors will be given the opportunity to have free Kona Ice during second period – all seniors must have their student ID with them. Seniors will report to their regular schedule first through fifth.

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