The Male/Manual rivalry is one of the oldest rivalries in the nation when it comes to high school sports. Many associate this rivalry with the annual football game. However, the rivalry extends far beyond that and this year there will be another chance for Manual to compete with Male.
Representatives from both Male and Manual have teamed up with the 15th District PTA’s Clothing Assistance Program (CAP) to start a competition in donating sporting goods. 100% of the athletic gear donated to the program will be given out to families in need of the gear so that their kids can play sports. “My motto for this is that every kid deserves the opportunity to play sports,” said Ms. Valerie King, who is heading Manual’s side of the project. Ms. King will be collecting donations in the front lobby from Monday-Thursday of next week and will be at Manual before and after school too to collect items. On Friday they will count up the total number of items donated and will compare it to Male to see who wins. Any athletic gear is acceptable to donate, from cleats and running shoes, to helmets and boxing bags.
Along with helping out kids in need, the project is supposed to provide a safe alternative for Male and Manual students to compete against each other instead of pulling pranks like what has happened in the past. “I believe that this will provide something positive that the students of Male and Manual can bring to the community using their rivalry,” said Ms. King. The typical trash talking that comes with most rivalry events has already started, as Male boasted about their win in the competition last year on WHAS 11 news this past week.
Joshua Bynum is a senior and a video editor for Redeye. He is also serves as assignment editor for Manual AM. He plays on the baseball team and intends to major in journalism.
