Blue wins 106th battle of the colors

After three nights of competition in the South Side High School gym, the girls of the Red and Blue teams gathered anxiously at mid court last Saturday for the announcement of the results in each category in the 106th Red & Blue competition.

Carol Roseto, the Rockville Centre School District’s director of physical activity, announced the points awarded for costumes, skits, props and more, and with the score 48-42 in favor of Blue, it all came down to sportsmanship. When Roseto announced that each team had received 5 points in that category, giving the Blue team a 53-47 victory, the Blue side of the gym exploded in jubilation for the third straight year. Unlike last year, when pandemic restrictions were in place, the competitors were joined by a crowd of parents.

After more than a month of practicing skits, routines and songs, the girls congratulated one another, with many embracing emotionally after the celebration died down. This year’s Red & Blue returned to full capacity without masks, giving parents an opportunity to watch their daughters — and for some, their sons — show their full faces and as they competed in the historic village event.

Each team entered in white dresses for the Revue night on Thursday, performing marching songs, toasting the opposing team and presenting posters and emblems for each event.

On Friday and Saturday, the team captains and their red and blue boys teammates acted out their original skits, “Night at the BLUEseum” and “REDmazing just the way you are,” as their teammates, clad in theme costumes, performed fully choreographed aerobics, jazz, disco and tap dances.

The Blue team had the winning skit, earning 7 points, but the Red captains, seniors Noelle Cairnie and Haley Zelles, said they were proud of their effort, which they said was their favorite part of the event.

“It really hurts, but we’re very, very proud of what we made, and what all the girls on the team did throughout the whole season,” Cairnie said.

“Every single girl on the Red team — we couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls,” Zelles said, “and they just continued to impress us every day at practice.”

The Red coordinators, Rockville Centre native Megan Lawless and her friend Stephanie Smith, said they couldn’t be more proud of the girls for their leadership and effort during the intensive practices over the past month. “We can’t say enough good things about them,” Lawless said. “We’re so proud of how hard they worked and how organized they were throughout this entire experience.”

“Haley and Noelle set the bar high from practice one,” Smith added, “and made us and the girls feel welcomed.” This was the first experience as coordinators for both Smith and Lawless, who oversaw practices and helped create routines.

In addition to the skits, the girls competed in tumbling, relay races, floor hockey, volleyball and the highly anticipated tug-of-war. Both teams showed their school spirit with chants and cheers that filled the gym during the competition.

Blue captain Sophie Greenberg, a senior, spoke about the tight bond the Red and Blue captains maintained while competing. “Haley and Noelle are the best, and we could tell nothing changed after they announced who won,” Greenberg said. “We all found each other and were hugging each other.”

Senior Blue co-captain Alexandra Kearns said her favorite part of the Red & Blue experience was seeing the girls take center stage in what turned into a traditional, pre-pandemic version of the storied program.

Blue coordinators Caitlin Nelson and Corey Carson, also taking part for the first time, said they were blown away by the experience. “We knew it would be intense,” Carson said, “but watching it play out was definitely a lot more than I originally thought.”

Nelson said her favorite part of the weekend was the skits. “Alex and Sophie worked so hard on it,” she said, “and so seeing it all come together live and finally playing out perfectly was my favorite part.”

Roseto, overseeing her 13th battle of the colors, got to enjoy the event after months of fielding the concerns of many parents who wanted a maskless Red & Blue and rolling with changing state guidelines. “The adaptability of the girls has amazed me,” she said. “It’s a hard event in general in the organizational part of it, but to have restrictions and everything made it especially hard.”

The blue team now leads the all-time series 50-43-11. There was no event in 1921 and there is no record of the 1968 winner.