While many people don’t take into consideration uncommon sports, we have several students at North Augusta High School who participate in them.
One student who participates in an uncommon sport is Katie Beth Cannon. Cannon is a part of a competitive rock-climbing team. When asked how she got involved with rock climbing, she said “My dad is a physical therapist at the VA, and they have a climbing wall there. We went to the gym when it first opened up in Augusta and just fell in love with the sport.” Cannon says right now they are in what is considered bouldering season, which is “where you climb without a rope, up to about 20/25 ft. indoors.” Cannon says practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm-7pm, which lines up nicely with her school hours. Cannon is a part of the south eastern region, so she competes mainly in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida. Cannon states “if you place high enough in at least one local competition, and compete in two, then you qualify for regional competition. From there, you move on to divisionals and nationals.”
Another athlete at our school who is part of an uncommon sport is Catherine Sams. Sams took her first ballet class at the age of 5, thanks to her parents, and hasn’t stopped since. Sams says she “practices in many styles such as ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, hip hop, tap, and acrobatics.” Sams also says that her before competition practices require lots of hard work and hours of dedication. Sams practices Monday-Friday, with occasional weekend practices for 3-6 hours. She says the hours do line up with her school hours. Sams says the competitions are normally out of town events, that give them the opportunity to perform for judges. Sams says at these competitions they are also able to participate in “Master Classes, which are large dance classes in ballrooms, where there is a professional/famous dancer teaching the class.” In an average season Sams says they normally have five competitions.
Sometimes, it is a good idea to think about our student athletes who are a part of teams we may have not known about because they are uncommon. These student athletes put in just as much work as athletes from any other sport at our school, and should be recognized as such.
Pictured: Catherine Sams
Photographer: Sarah Batson
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