The annual dodgeball tournament finals ended early due to a sit-in on the dodgeball court conducted by several members of the senior class after the match of three rounds between the seniors and the juniors resulted in a junior victory.

Traditionally, the winning team of the final round faces off against a faculty team. Referee Eric Kallbrier and faculty spirit advisers Kerry Enzensperger and Andrew Irvine announced that the junior class would proceed to face the faculty after the class’ three rounds against the seniors, which resulted in one win for the juniors and two tied games.

The senior players walked out of the gym, re-entered after a minute, were joined by senior spectators, seated themselves on the gym floor, and refused to disperse, which prevented the final match between the junior class and the faculty from taking place.

“It came about all of a sudden. It wasn’t one person, I guess,” Senior Class Vice President Riya Godbole said. “It was kind of a mob mentality. One person, I don’t know who, suggested it, and everyone just thought it was a good idea.”

Some seniors and juniors allegedly began to use profanity in reference to one another as well as the activity organizers.

“I was disappointed. I was embarrassed for my class, because I know that they have this great spirited energy, and they weren’t thinking,” Senior Class Dean Diana Moss said. “When things like that happen, it just breeds negativity and ill will.”

Dean of Students Kevin Williamson also expressed displeasure at the seniors’ choice.

“These are seniors,” Williamson said. “They are meant to set an example for some of the younger students. I don’t think they set a good example.”

Some seniors alleged instances of cheating on the juniors’ side.

“The seniors got upset because there were some players on the junior side who did get out but did not exit the game,” Senior Class Secretary Jason Jeong (12) said. “We’re upset that the junior side was not as heavily supervised as ours.”

Junior player Oisin Coveney thought the seniors were “sore losers.”

“We won the game fair and square and the seniors did not like that, but they should not block our game and our achievement,” he said.

A handful of seniors shouted phrases such as “corruption” during the sit-in protest. Regarding rumors of possible punishment or a revocation of privileges for either of the classes involved, Williamson stated that it was “certainly not out of the question.”

“I think that it was just something that is unfortunate that it happened, and if people were more honorable when they played then maybe we wouldn’t have this issue,” Senior Class Spirit Coordinator Arjun Ashok said.

Another source of frustration was with the referee’s calls made, despite what actually occurred during the game.

“Obviously I feel that the officiating could have been better, but sometimes you just don’t get the calls you need,” Senior Class Treasurer Nikhil Reddy said. “We played to our spots, we played to our percentages, we executed in response, the team–very athletic team, very skilled–we just didn’t come out on top.”

According to Moss, the junior and senior class deans plan on meeting with their respective classes tomorrow to further deliberate on the issue.

Additional reporting by Cheryl Liu, Justin Su, and Neha Sunil.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Jonathan Dai

After storming into the gym, seniors gather in a circle and pump themselves up for their match against the juniors. This year's annual dodgeball finals featured controversial calls and ended in a senior sit-in.