The student body at Summit High School comes together every week to show support for fellow student athletes participating in fall sports. Everyone attending has been participating in the themes, chants and raucous behavior toward the opposing teams. Being in the middle of the student section is a good time, but Summit students can get a bit carried away and must find the balance of fun within the rules set by the administration.

 The administration at Summit and all schools within Bend-La Pine have been harsh about the OSAA restrictions at sporting games. The rules in place are to keep students from getting hurt, but some of the rules are limiting students from having fun and keeping their traditions at the games.

 One of the many traditions students love to participate in after a Summit win is storming the field or court to congratulate the players. After the past few home games, storming the field has been a problem. Summit’s administration has shared its expectations with the student body and asked students to be respectful of the seemingly simple new rules—including not climbing the fence, waiting patiently to run through the gate and listening to staff before sprinting to congratulate the team.

 While some students abide by these rules most don’t, preferring the adrenaline rush that fills the student body after a big win. The crazy behavior of the students and athletes should be permitted under the circumstances, since excited students only want to celebrate Storm’s winning teams.

 Many students have gotten tripped while running on the field. The student section monitors have done all they can to make this a safe activity, but they can’t control if someone trips and falls. A student falling is out of anyone’s control, and should not determine if the tradition gets taken away.

 Junior Paige Parton was one of the many students and faculty who have been tripped and struggled to get up from the crowd of kids running past.

 “Falling on the turf hurt at the moment, but when I got up I thought it was hilarious,” said Parton.

 Senior Spirit Commissioner Cass Smith is taking action and trying to brainstorm ways to fix this problem so that the overbearing rules placed by the administration won’t ruin the fun of a tradition.

 “I am going to try my best to keep students from getting hurt, but I can’t control all the people in the student section wanting to storm the field,” Smith said.

 Students in the stands chanting can get carried away in the fun of it all, but they represent Summit at these events and that can be overlooked sometimes. The chants being yelled from the student section can have team spirit without being disrespectful towards the other team. Students should remember that their parents and authority are just a few feet away.

 “Take his whistle” is a commonly used chant directed toward the ref when they make a call that wasn’t in Summit’s favor. When an opposing athlete makes a simple mistake, summit chants “Fundamentals” making it known that the athlete messed up.

 “110% of our chants are appropriate, I think we could even be meaner,” Smith said.

 Storming the field and Summit’s chants are not the only problems occurring during games. Seniority tends to be abused within the tightly squeezed section as well. Upperclassmen aggressively yell at underclassmen to move farther up on the bleachers so they will have a spot.

 “As students move up in age, they earn their spot down lower on the stands,” said junior Avery Ruhl. “Underclassmen need to start respecting this trend.” Use common sense, underclassmen, and move when asked.

 On Oct. 7, 2022, Summit’s football team played rival school Bend High. Students had made signs with sayings that had been chanted by Summit for years—”Let’s Go Bear Hunting”— when getting ready to play their rivals. Vice principal Mr. Holler marched through the Summit halls and tore down signs that students had worked hard to make. The effort put into a sign the cheerleaders made for the football boys to run through before the game was promptly removed as well. The cheerleaders hung the sign in the commons, reading “Caution: Bear Hunting Season.”

 “Any sign that you have has to be supportive of our team,” said Mr. Holler. “We can’t target other teams.” Disregarding the time spent on the posters, they were prematurely thrown in the dumpster and seen as “derogatory.”

 The Summit High School student section constantly undergoes rule changes, but the traditions must stand. With safety and respect intact, there should be no need for administration to take any harmless traditions away.