Bruin Cup, an annual student-run event, recognizes and celebrates RBHS athletes and their accomplishments from the past school year. Each student on the board is chosen by the coach from their respective sport. This year, Bruin Cup will be held in person May 16 at the Crossing Church, with respect to various COVID-19 guidelines. There will be seating divided between nominees and guests, mandatory mask wearing and a virtual streaming option available for those who weren’t nominated. Athletic director Michael McGinty said because of the lack of in-person meetings until January of this year, as a result of virtual school first semester, it was difficult to arrange the event.
“Our students have been resilient and continue to work hard to make this event happen,” McGinty said. “I should also give a shout-out to our incredible parents who are helping our student board with the planning details by providing support throughout this process.”
Senior Olivia Hake, who is a co-general chair of the student board with senior Maddie Snider, said the parent volunteers are helping with smaller details of the event while the students focus on larger aspects, such as the venue, seating and food. She also said while the planning time was shortened, it was the only major obstacle in terms of organization.
“This year has definitely been different due to [COVID-19] but I feel like we are still going to put on a good event,” Hake said. “We are very efficient and work quickly at all our meetings… We check in with all the other committees to make sure they are getting their tasks done.”
Snider said another issue was arranging the post-event food in a way that would comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
“As a solution to [the food concern], we are repackaging ‘snack packs’ in baggies for people to grab,” Snider said. “It is also hard [to know the number of baggies to pack] because we are always in the unknown as to how many people we are able to have at the event because it could be different by the time May comes around.”
McGinty said though COVID-19 limitations changed the event slightly, the spirit of Bruin Cup remains the same, and argues there is renewed enthusiasm for it since it was canceled last spring.
“I always heard great things about [Bruin Cup] from both students and coaches,” McGinty said. “I am so excited to experience this celebration of our student-athletes, and I am hoping to see some funny videos and content at various points in the evening.”
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