On August 29, 2019 the NCHS drumline members gathered in the Dick Cheney Memorial stadium to participate in the second annual Drumlympics. The so-called “Drumlympics” contain events specific to the drumline such as a drumstick relay, squatting with a drum on, and cymbal rolling. Where did this event come from? Drum Sergeant, Gabe DeGraeve (12), said that during the 2017-18 school year he and a former member of the drumline joked about having such an event, and he decided to make it a reality the summer of 2018. The event was such a success DeGraeve put it on again this year.

The Drumlympics began with the opening ceremonies where Brenden Licursi, who is more commonly referred to as “Patches,” ran around the track holding a drumstick with the Olympic anthem playing. Then, the participants were put into teams of three by DeGraeve. This year the teams were assigned in order to help the new and old members of the drumline get to know each other better. 

Each event was judged by DeGraeve and the 2019-20 Drum Majors Anastasia Zettl (11), Jack Robataille (12), and Gavin Guerrera (11). The first event was the drumstick relay. For this event the football field was split into three legs with a member of each team at the starting points of the three legs. The team members then passed the drumstick to their teammates when they reached each of the starting points. The team whose third leg member reached the end zone first won. 

Many events followed; a favorite of the participants, including Degraeve, was cymbal rolling. Each team got six chances to roll a cymbal as far as possible. The challenge with cymbal rolling was that the cymbals tended to curve and change course suddenly. Robataille’s leg was cut by a cymbal thrown by freshman Brody Haskins that suddenly veered off course. Even so, Robataille said he didn’t regret attending the 2019 Drumlympics.

One event, bass case stacking, required two members of a team to work together to stack all eight bass drum cases on top of each other as quickly as possible. Even while standing on two large tires stacked on top of each other, the competitors found it difficult to place the last case because of how tall the stack was. The teams earned points depending on the quality of their stacks, and these points were subtracted from their times. The team with the quickest time after points were subtracted won.

Other events included squatting with a drum on, quad rows (lifting a tenor or quad drum), stick throwing, running with a drum on and drum assembly. 

The final event, lettuce eating, was a surprise event DeGraeve decided to add this year. In order to win a team must eat an entire head of lettuce. Freshman Kolbe Zettl ate an entire lettuce head by himself and took the win for his team.

Throughout the whole event, the participants were able to enjoy pizza, popsicles, pop and water. The popsicles were especially enjoyed because of the high temperatures. After all the events were completed, the drum majors and DeGraeve presented the awards for each of the events. Participants won trophies for first through third for each event. 

The Drumlympics are a great opportunity for the drumline to bond before the school year starts. DeGraeve said, “the reason we do it (Drumplympics) at the beginning of the year as opposed to near the end is to give a chance for the new freshmen-and even the upperclassmen-to get a chance to know and meet each other and work together.” 

Haskins (9) agreed that is was a little scary to join the drumline at first without knowing the upper classmen, and that the Drumlympics helped him feel more comfortable in the group. When asked if he is looking forward to future Drumlympics Haskins said, “yes, but I don’t think it will be as fun without the seniors.” 

Drumlympics is likely going to be a tradition enjoyed by the NCHS drumline for many years to come.