The winter season brings cooler temperatures, rain, snow, and harsher conditions to most parts of the world, but it also brings sports that are unparalleled in the other seasons. These sports are an important part of the winter season and can provide an exciting atmosphere during the dull months. If you do not know much about winter sports, what they are, how they are played, or where they take place, then continue reading to learn all you need to know.
During the winter season, athletes at Franklin partake in wrestling, swimming, cheer, and basketball. These four sports all take place from November through February, and all are a part of Portland Interscholastic League (PIL) events. To sign up for sports this winter at Franklin, go to the Franklin website’s athletics page to find information about tryouts, practice start dates, payment, and how to be prepared/eligible to start the season strong.
If you are interested in playing one of these sports for Franklin, there are a few things you should know to ensure a successful season. Wrestling is a complex and competitive sport, every round or match lasting six minutes. Each match has two wrestlers of the same weight class and one referee to enforce the contest’s rules. A wrestler wins their match by pinning their opponent to the mat or by gaining more points than them according to the scoring criteria. Wrestling at Franklin is a “no-cut” sport, which means to be on the team you only need to sign up and show up.
Wrestler Lozen Warner, a junior at Franklin, explained that she joined wrestling due to her background in jiu jitsu and encouragement from her coaches. Warner has been on the team since her sophomore year and described wrestling as “exciting, competitive, and athletic.” She continued, “I think people really overlook how interesting and intense the sport is [in order] to poke fun at it.” Warner also advises that if you think you would like it, you should join, especially if you are a girl! “[Wrestling] is a really fun sport with some really involved coaches,” and Warner believes “this should be a good season.”
Fellow Franklin wrestler and junior Dane Hartmann states, “I like wrestling because of the sport and community you get from being a wrestler.” He went on to explain that the challenges wrestling provides further his adoration for it. Hartmann describes wrestling as “committed, disciplined, and intense.” He went on to speak about the attendance rates at wrestling matches: “At dual meets typically there are around 100 to 125 people there. Most of those are families of wrestlers from the teams that are there.” Hartmann states that attendance doesn’t affect his performance and that he tries to focus on what his coaches are telling him and on how to win the match and progress to the next.
Hartmann believes that “there is a big difference between girls and boys wrestling in attendance, participation, and advertising.” Hartmann shared that, “Last year the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) sanctioned girls wrestling as a new sport [due to a] rise of participation throughout the U.S.” Hartmann and Warner both explained that the rise of girls wrestling is a recent trend but is a trend that brings hope to wrestlers and the community for the future of the sport.
Another winter sport that is played both professionally and at Franklin is basketball. The National Basketball Association or NBA and the Women’s National Basketball Association or WNBA bring in some of the largest crowds in sports. From Micheal Jordan and LeBron James to Angel Reese, basketball has grown to become one of the most popular sports in the world since it became an official Olympic event at the 1936 Berlin Games.
This fast-paced sport is played by two teams of five players each fighting to score points by shooting a basketball into a ten-foot-tall hoop. The ball can be dribbled or passed by athletes. The team who has the ball is playing offense and the team without plays defense until the ball is stolen or the teams reset after a play ends. The game is divided into four quarters, each being six to eight minutes long with a break between the second and third quarters. Whoever has the most points at the end of the fourth quarter wins the game. There are two referees who judge the game and call fouls on athletes. An example of this is personal fouls, which occur when an athlete pushes or grabs another player. Fouls are a common occurrence in high school basketball games due to the competitive nature of the athletes.
Charlotte Storrs is a senior and a member of the varsity women’s basketball team at Franklin. Storrs said that she has always had a love for basketball and has been playing since she was in fourth grade. She describes the sport as “competitive, aggressive, and skill-based.”
Going into the 2023 to 2024 season, Storrs believes that the team has “a lot more fight and more scrappiness and [is] less burnt out.” She hopes that the team’s drive will result in a winning season which Franklin girls have struggled to obtain in the last few years. Tryouts for both the boys and girls basketball teams are Nov. 13 through 15, 2023.
When attending basketball games at Franklin, you are sure to see Franklin’s cheer team. The team comes to support the basketball players, improve morale of the crowd, and show off their skills through dances and stunts. Isa Halle is a sophomore and going into her second year of cheerleading. She describes cheer as “spirited, exhilarating, and hardworking.” Normally during stunts, Halle will act as a “base” who helps lift a fellow cheerleader, the flyer, into the air.
She explained that “our team works really hard on and off the field with learning and creating new routines and facilitating school spirit at FHS.” Halle also shared, “This year is the first year [the team] will have a competition team, so look out for us at state!” If you are interested in having a hardworking and love filled team, look no further than Franklin Cheer.
Did you know that Franklin has a competitive swimming team? The swim team is one of the four winter sports that are played for Franklin, and the season is about to start on Nov. 13. Athletes travel to local community centers for practices, and Matt Dishman Community Center is where meets or competitions against other high schools are held. Meets usually take place on weekday nights during the season and last two to four hours. Swimming is also a no-cut sport, and being an individual sport, there are a lot of paths each athlete can take during the season based on their goals.
These athletes participate in numerous events or races throughout the season at individual meets. The four strokes of swimming are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly; these strokes can be competed individually in different meters such as 50, 100, 200, and in some cases 500. All strokes can be competed together in an individual medley or IM, and in a medley relay where each swimmer competes in one of the four strokes before tagging out with the next swimmer.
Swim is a fun and fast-paced sport; families, students, and staff are encouraged to come to meets this winter and support their swimmer or Franklin’s team as a whole. Be sure to check Trivory or @fhsswimming on Instagram for more information about practices, meets, and towards the end of the season district meets, where some FHS swimmers may qualify for the state competition.
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In the professional sports world, football, basketball, ice hockey, curling, snowboarding, skiing, and ice skating are competitively played. All these sports make the winter sports season truly one of a kind. Ice hockey and football are often considered fairly confusing sports to watch, but keep reading to understand these unique sports.
Ice hockey is a fast-paced, high-contact sport that originated in Canada. The game is divided into three periods with each lasting 20 minutes. Due to 10 to 20 minute breaks between periods as well as stoppage for injuries and play reviews, the game in its entirety lasts around two and a half hours. Each team is allowed six players on the ice at once: five skaters that hold different positions, and one goal-tender or goalie. Every player is equipped with protective gear under their jersey, skates, a helmet, gloves, and a stick. On the ice they are fighting to score goals with the puck.
Roughing or fighting is a very common attribute in hockey, especially in the National Hockey League or NHL. Fights usually occur at the end of the play; players are pulled apart before it gets too aggressive or other players start to get involved. Although in some instances players will communicate and agree to fight. They are allowed to fight until one has been tackled to the ice; this action results in a five-minute penalty for both players.
The NHL’s season began on Oct. 10, 2023, and will conclude on April 18, 2024. Numerous NHL games can be found on ESPN and TNT and you can find hockey in person at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which is home to the Portland Winterhawks, a junior ice hockey team. This league produces many NHL players and provides a fun and competitive atmosphere for long-time fans and fans who are new to the team or ice hockey. The Winterhawks will play from Oct. 6 to Mar. 24 in hopes that they will go into the playoffs in early April 2024.
Football is largely regarded as the most popular spectator sport on the national, collegiate, and high school levels. This two to three-hour game consists of four 15-minute quarters with a 13 to 20 minute halftime break. The remainder of the time is spent dealing with penalties, timeouts, and injuries. Additionally, if the game is tied at the end, then the teams will go into a ten-minute extra quarter to determine a winner.
During the game, there are 11 players from each team on the field, with one playing offense and the other playing defense. Their goal is to score points primarily through a touchdown which occurs by running the ball into the endzone, or field goals which are achieved by successfully kicking the ball in between the goalposts in the endzone.
While high school football is coming to a close, the National Football League’s regular season started on Sept. 7 and will continue until Jan. 7. This 18-week season comprises 272 games. These games can be seen on ESPN, Paramount +, Sling, and Hulu + Live TV. You can also see a game in person at the Oregon Ducks or Oregon State Beavers’ campuses, or you can see the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Stadium in Seattle, WA.
Football games on any level provide an opportunity for fans to showcase their support for their team and bring a contagious energy, passion, and emotion that is unparalleled in any other sport. On weeknights and weekends, people across the country gather in stadiums or living rooms to support their teams and hope that they will see their team play during the Super Bowl, the championship game of the NFL, on February 11, 2024.
These winter sports are exciting and engaging for not only athletes but for spectators as well, at every level. Understanding the language and rules used in each sport can be confusing, but having a basic idea going into a game or match can help you to gain more knowledge by simply watching. Wrestling, swimming, basketball, football, and hockey games and matches occur throughout the winter and start of the spring season. If you are looking for a fun event for a weeknight or weekend, go out and support Franklin or your favorite pro team.
