Countdown centennial
2013-2014
Volume 3 | January 2013
from the start: westridge athletic tradition Westridge takes pride in affording each girl the opportunity to explore, take risks, and extend beyond what she believes she is capable. The Westridge girl is taught to appreciate success as well as endure setbacks with selfreflection and grace. There is no better forum for girls to put themselves to the test than when being completely “in the moment” in the public venue of athletics. Triumphs — whether personal or team — are achieved throughout each competition, while relationships are forged through collective effort. These moments provide a platform from which self-esteem and school pride grow.
The Tigers’ athletic program today boasts 12 sports with all three divisions engaged in a range of competitive opportunities. In the past decade, golf, lacrosse, and water polo were added in Upper School. To date, Westridge has won 33 Prep League Championships and 11 California Interscholastic Federation – Southern Section (CIF-SS) Championships! Our girls are recognized through Prep League and CIF-SS individual awards as well as annual endowed awards. The Joan Taufenbach Haskell ’47 Contribution to Athletics Award was added in 2011, recognizing a graduating senior’s service, participation, and dedication to the athletics program.
Westridge athletics began in 1919 when four Westridge girls participated in the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. Additional varsity sports were added in the mid-1920s including basketball and volleyball. The spirit of Westridge competition gained momentum from the start and would set the tone for Westridge’s involvement for years to come.
Go Tigers!
Beginning in our Centennial year, Westridge will announce its first Athletics Hall of Fame inductees, to be unveiled at Homecoming on January 10, 2014. This important milestone to pay tribute to our student-athletes over the decades will be the crowning moment at the Centennial Homecoming event!
Melanie Horn Westridge Director of Athletics
westridge beginnings
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1927 | Mask and Brush formally organizes, growing out of two earlier groups, the Dramatics Club and the Aesthetics class. Its first performance is a medieval play, Herodes.
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1928 | The Westridge Alumnae Association takes up the American Indian cause and hosts a lecture to benefit the Indian Defense Association, while students continue their tradition of international service with donations to the Near East College Association.
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1929 | Thirteen of the graduating class of 20 plan to attend college. The Academic girls draw up a new constitution and work out a plan for complete self-government.
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1930 | In September, Westridge enrollment grows to 185 students, with a faculty of 16 and two principals.
1931 | In August, a locker-room, office space, and attic art studio are added to the gymnasium.
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1932 | As the Great Depression deepens, the 127 members of Westridge’s Alumnae Association designate the proceeds of their annual benefit for Pasadena emergency relief, instead of toward the Scripps Scholarship Fund.