Tracy High School celebrated Hoopla Week with a black light rally after school on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Students gathered in the gymnasium dressed in neon, glowing with school spirit.

“This event requires about 2 months of planning not only for ASB to prep for, organize, and decorate, but also for our clubs, band, and sports performers as they spent countless hours preparing for the event,” Cameron Chitwood, Tracy High’s leadership teacher, said.

Leadership pumped up the energy after everyone was seated with members of their grade. The rally officially commenced when the lights were cut and the black lights lit up the neon in the gym.

Performances were kicked off by Julia and Emma Sawin twirling glowing batons. Club performances from Star Wars Club, Dance Troupe, BSU, and API kept the students entertained throughout the rally. The Tracy High marching band, cheerleading, and dance teams performed as well. Additionally, Brutus the Bulldog made a surprise performance when he began dancing with the dance team.

“It was amazing to see the student body come together to revive an awesome school tradition to support not only the winter sports but also all of the amazing club performances,” Chitwood exclaimed. “Our main goal is to provide students with opportunities to come together as a class and school to create unforgettable memories and foster camaraderie!”

Chitwood was overjoyed with the chance to hold another black light rally since there hasn’t been one since 2020 due to the pandemic.

“I think the best part of the rally was definitely the dance battle. It was a new addition to our rallies and it was great,” Averie Ireland, one of leadership’s Rally Commissioners, said. “The crowd was hype and cheering on their peers.”

Ireland feels that organizing these rallies is important to help students of Tracy High get out of their comfort zone. Spirit checks and class karaoke got everyone involved in the hype of the rally, as well as cheering on their peers during performances and volunteer activities

For one senior, Phoebe Austria, this was her first time performing with her club, API, at the black light rally since it was canceled last year due to covid.

“It was really fun as a senior to be able to perform with my club for my last hoopla rally and we did amazing, which made it a success for all of us,” Austria said.

As with the other performers, much work went in to make their performance enjoyable for their classmates.

“We made sure we got the choreo down and practiced for 2 hours every day after school until the day of the rally which led to a good performance,” Austria exclaimed.

The rally came to an end at approximately 3:15 p.m. and students left the rally feeling excited about the basketball game and dance on Friday that will bring a close to hoopla week.