EF Academy Olympics – welcoming Torbay to New York

This post was written by Synnove “Sunny” Tonnesen from Norway, a senior at EF Academy New York and 2016 EF Academy Olympics participant.  

Throughout the last days of our Spring Break, we were all truly excited to greet the students from EF Academy Torbay who were going to participate in the inter-campus sports competition at our school in New York. We didn’t know what to expect, but we were all determined to give them the best experience possible.

We started off at JFK airport where any symptoms of jetlag were eased by a proper New York welcome. Songs like “Empire State of Mind” and “New York City” filled the bus all the way through Manhattan to Thornwood, and eventually, to EF Academy. After a quick tour of the campus, a welcome dinner and our Head of School Dr. Mahoney’s words, “Let the games begin,” we finally let the Torbay students go to sleep and prepare for some real competition in sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, frisbee and cross country. Throughout all of the competitions, everyone showed a lot of heart which lead to incredible wins, tough losses, and thrilling tie breakers. The tension was unreal at times with incredibly high energy levels that were strengthened by Activities Director Emily Aquina’s refill of cookies and cupcakes. We celebrated each day with fun activities such as Westchester Knicks game (where we had courtside seats),  pizza and bowling. The competition ended with a closing ceremony at Dave & Busters.

Overall, it was such a unique experience as everyone shared a passion for sports which became a platform to build new friendships. Despite all the rivalries that took place in the sports arenas, the social aspects and shared interests turned us into one big team. We ended up cheering for players and participants on opposing teams, which really reflects on the sportsmanship that shone throughout the competition. We learned from each other and appreciated their alluring culture while proudly showing our own. In a wider sphere, this is a privilege EF Academy has given us – allowing us to cross borders both physically and figuratively. I know I speak for everyone when I say that this event is something we definitely have to continue organizing in the future. Whenever EF Academy Torbay is ready to come back to America, the door will be fully open. And maybe we’ll add some British songs to our playlist next time (and we look forward to the opportunity to win two years in a row!)