“There’s not a lot to do except watching people swim”

How was the BHS Swimming Carnival through the perspective of those who did not participate?

The Swimming Carnival is a tradition at Blackburn High School that takes place at Boroondara Sports Complex every year. Breaking from the “Friday tradition”, the carnival this year happened on a blazing Monday, 14th of February. The temperature reached up to 35 degrees that day and most of the students had fun splashing in the water with their friends. While the event was labelled “compulsory”, the students who did not want to participate had the choice of staying at home. There are, however, students who wished to spend the 14th of February with their friends and not worry about school work. We’ve interviewed those students and asked them about their opinions on the day; here are their responses: 

 

“It was great!” Said Florence, a year 10 student. Though did not participate in the swimming events, she shared that she would’ve liked to.

 Ava- another student we interviewed stated that the carnival was a good idea, though “you’ll have to participate in order to have fun” 

However, one student revealed that her time at the Swimming Carnival was not so great. “I hated it, I had nothing to do,” said Ruby. 

She further explained that the burning heat that day was a big cause of her disappointment, “I’ve gotten a lot of sunburns even though I had sunscreen on”. 

                                 Freeman house area at Boroondara Sports Complex

Ruby also thinks that Blackburn High School should have a healthy balance between sport and other activities such as art and music. 

Despite the few let-downs of the Swimming Carnival, the different costumes that our students have come up with were far from disappointments! As another tradition of Blackburn High School’s Carnival, students are encouraged to dress up in their house colour and win a special prize if their costume is chosen as the best outfit. 

This, of course, has impressed our interviewees. “There was a group of guys next to us dressed up as news reporters,” Ava stated. 

While Ruby, who was discontented, revealed that she witnessed a dancing “octopus” at the carnival. 

While a few students did not enjoy their times at this year’s Swimming Carnival, the event was considered a success for the majority. We hope for Blackburn’s annual swimming event next year to receive even higher participation so that every student can have the best time they could. 

A smiling student after their swimming event