The powder puff football game, a Red/White week tradition, gives junior and senior girls the chance to be football players as the guys cheerlead. This year, John Ross Gribbins (11) and a few friends came up with an idea for the guys to play a girls’ sport: field hockey.

Powder puff football has been a Red/White week tradition for ten years. However, there has never been an event in which guys play a girls’ sport. Gribbins and a couple other juniors decided that it would be fun if the guys had an event similar to the powder puff football game for girls.

They came up with the idea that, like the powder puff football game, junior and senior guys could participate in a field hockey game. Field hockey is a female-dominated sport in which the guys playing would be required to wear skirts, like the actual field hockey players.

“I think it would be really fun for the players to try their hand in field hockey since most guys have never played the game,” said Gribbins. “Also, it would be pretty entertaining to see a bunch of guys run around on a field in skirts and tank tops for an hour.”

Since Red/White week is full of after-school events, the guys decided it would be better to have the event take place in the spring. The weather is also more permitting during the spring.

“We are really making the push for this to happen. I think it’ll be a nice addition to the numerous annual events that students at Manual look forward to every year,” said Gribbins.

One of the ways in which the students are pushing for this to happen is by having Manual students sign a petition. The petition essentially states that whoever signs it agrees that they think the field hockey game would be a fun event and are in support of its approval. Once the petition gets enough signatures, the students plan on taking it to the administration in hopes to get the event scheduled for some time this spring.

“The only concern I could see is that the guys might get a little too aggressive with the sticks and the rock hard field hockey balls and someone might get hurt, but as long as enough people would be interested and they play within the rules, I don’t see a problem with it,” said Assistant Principal Mr. Kingsley.

Stay tuned to www.manualredeye.com for more updates and coverage on the progress of this petition.