Notes from
Cardigan Cardigan Mountain School R.F.D. 2, Box 58 Canaan, New Hampshire 03741 603-523-4321
March 1987
Many parents attend sports events at Cardigan, but few have been fortunate enough to see our Broombal I players in action. This wintertime activity has been kept pretty quiet, but could well turn out to be the secret weapon of the future. It's played on the ice, using half the length of a hockey rink, and has a regulation goal at each end. Players are equipped with a short-handled broom, the bristle end of which has been wrapped securely with duct tape. Regulation gear includes a helmet for protection against falling on the ice. Not skates, but sneakers are worn on the feet. The ice must be smooth without cracks or skate marks. A soccer ball is used instead of a puck. Otherwise, it 1 s just like hockey; players face off, hit the ball with the broom and try to get it past the goalie into the goal. Another difference is that sneakers don't act like skates on ice; they provide absolutely no traction. The motion of swinging the broom and hitting the ball is frequently enough to put a player off balance and off his feet. Try to imagine ten players slipping wildly on the ice trying to get a whack at a rolling ball, and you can imagine the chaos that ensues. It is a game in which no one has an advantage by virtue of expe ri ence or skill. It's a hilarious spectator sport; perhaps we should feature it next year for Parents' Weekend . It's a rare moment when $36,000 worth of new equipment arrives on this campus and creates scarcely any excitement. It was painted green with white lettering on the side, had the usual number of wheels, tires, windows and doors, and although it was a little larger, could hardly be distinguished from the old one. Practically, however, it was great to have the new bus, and it was put into service immediately. When ski Holiday finally arrived on February 27th, it was a grand sight to see the procession leaving campus. Two green Cardigan busses, two rented ye llow busses, and four vans - filled with the entire student body, most of the faculty, several faculty wives, and an incredible variety of skis, poles, snowboards, etc. got under way about 8:30 a.m. heading for Loon Mountain. Skiing this Winter has been the best in years, and on that date snow conditions were ideal and it was one of the warmest, sunniest, most spectacularly beautiful days of the whole season. We thought to have the slopes to ourselves, but word did get out about the weather and quite a number of people managed to start their weekend early with a day on the slopes. Let's say, it was crowded. That didn't detract one bit from the fun; no one came home on a stretcher, and it was a beautiful day in New Hampshire! We love Winter! By the end of February, however, we can admit that it's getting a bit long, and any kind of diversion i_s welcome. From two of our creative faculty members came an inspiration: Midw inter Doldrums Games 1987 - a giant game of 11 Trivial Pursuit 11 played in the theatre with the whole school participating. From our intramural Green and White teams, a Captain and 20 players were chosen. A member from each team took his place at the table behind the green line and listened to the question read by Mr. Hart. The first one to grab the glass from the table had first chance to answer. If his response was incorrect, the other player had to try. A wrong answer put that player out, and the next in line took his place. A variety of 11 official II rules were pronounced by Mr. Hart to fit developments as they arose: undue delay" (grabbing the glass first then trying to think of the answer) was a two point penalty. An extra point could be earned by answering the question before he had finished reading it. 11