SALISBURY — Salisbury Elementary School was buzzing with excitement Tuesday morning as students gathered to cheer on their classmates in the annual Reindeer Races.
The races are a decades-long tradition at SES that involves a friendly competition before the holiday break.
The concept is simple, students sit atop mats stacked on scooters and are pushed around the SES gym in a race against their classmates.
Each student in a team of three gets a chance to sit on the mat for a lap around the gym as their teammates push them as fast as they can.
Students are chosen to represent their class based on a previous race, SES Principal Michael Astuccio said.
“In gym class they have their own class competition. So, all students get to participate. In each class, a team is identified as the class winner and then they get together to celebrate during the school-wide championship,” he said.
All the other students filled the gym’s bleachers and cheered uproariously as their classmates ran into the gym as their names are called over a microphone.
Chants and cheers rang out in the SES gym as students urged the classmates to cross the finish lines.
“It’s a day of a lot of energy and enthusiasm, a lot of high spirits,” Astuccio said.
First, students from each grade level competed against each other and whipped around the gym with a few crashes along the way. Winners from each grade competed in the finals, with kindergarten through second grade competing in one race and third through sixth grade competing in another.
Astuccio said the Reindeer Races are a source of great excitement for his students.
“It’s a beloved tradition at SES and the students look forward to it every year,” he said.
Assistant Principal Jane Keeler said students prepare for the races in advance and get creative.
“They’re very excited. Some kids really go all out and plan ahead and they have a team name and some even some in team t-shirts,” she said.
Many students are no stranger to the Reindeer Races and made a return to the popular event this year, Keeler said.
“Some kids it’s their first time and some kids, especially our older students have maybe had the chance to race before,” she said.
Students from second grade and sixth grade were victorious in the finals and received trophies with a miniature reindeer in them and bragging rights for their victory.
In the end, regardless of a win or a loss, students were excited to participate in another year of the tradition and start their holiday vacation.