5 days, all day. The air feels metallic, filled with electricity charged by the explosive cheers and whistles born from competitive lungs. The bad weather had no effect. For the enthusiastic fans, the sun’s smile or the cloud’s breath was nonexistent. The only thing that mattered was how much time a pair of eyeballs focused on an air-filled ball. Athletes showed stoic looks with a mix of nerves, dopamine, focus, adrenalin, and embarrassment. Crowds rose, cheered, gasped, and fell back down. The environment surrounding the three sports, assimilated that of an Olympic stage, as everyone came with a single vision; to win.

2022 High School Binationals brought along innovation as the organization provided apps to live broadcast the event, and increased engagement from HS students with the inclusion of a new schedule. Although many attendees highlighted the positive adaptations, some mentioned that the inclusion of some sports that were not presented would have made it an outstanding event.

Both spectators and athletes highlighted the food as one of their favorite things from the event. Tents sold burgers, fries, coffee, ice cream, churros, and arepas, among others, to bring the best experience to all of those attending the event. 

“Something I liked about this year’s Binational was the food, it’s an essential part of the whole event. There are no binationals without food trucks. ” Daniel Franco, Grade 9, said. 

Others noted that they would’ve liked to see boys’ soccer, women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball. In previous editions, Binationals included girls’ and boys’ teams from various schools like CNG, Bolivar, Liceo Ingles, Cojowa, GI, etc… in each of the sports, yet, due to logistic arrangements, only some of these teams could participate. 

“What I like the least about it, is that not all six teams are here, where you have boys and girls in all sports,” Freddie Badillo, Head Director of sports and extracurriculars, said.

“I would like to see more participation from other schools. We have a total of 16 schools, however, in girl’s soccer only five schools came, in volleyball; seven schools, and in basketball; eight schools,” Badillo complained. 

Coaches and binational managers said they were pleased with the way the event played out. This year’s event was easier to manage, brought the opportunity for students to showcase their talent and created spaces to connect with students from all over the country.

“With only one of the teams here, the events become much more manageable for the organization and also more manageable for the schools that are traveling,” Badillo commented.

Whats New?

One of the big changes in this year’s event was the use of apps like Tournify which made it easier for fans to see the times, results and changes in the rankings. Similarly, apps like Futto and VeoLive live-streamed all the games. Live streaming was useful for fans who could not attend the games as they could still live the experience and demonstrate their support for the teams.

“It’s pretty interesting that we can merge technology and sports to create a more updated and connected binational event where no matter the time or place anyone can be informed about the results,” Senior Maria Isabel Tabera, TCS futbol midfielder, said. 

“With these apps I think even more people can show their support for the athletes because there are people that want to watch the games but for multiple reasons it’s difficult to attend the games. It makes it more professional,” Senior Mariana Mesa, TCS goalkeeper, said.

Additionally, many mentioned that the parity between girls soccer was also a novelty. Most games showed a slight futbolistic difference where a wide difference of goals was rare. There were no teams that completely outplayed the other. According to some players, teams were better prepared tactically and physically both in the offensive and defensive performance. 

“Girls soccer showed teams with similar levels. In previous tournaments, there were many teams with a poor futbolistic level, yet, in this edition, teams seem to be more organized,” Hernando Arango, TCS girls coach said.

Highlights 

Several sources mentioned that one of their favorite things about the event was the food, the extra time to see and support the teams, and the fanaticism.

“I have liked that there are many shops to buy food and the participation of so many different teams,” Dana Valentina, Colegio Panamericano athlete, said. 

“I have really liked the food and the people, but the crowd has been outstanding as it’s been very helpful and they’ve always been there to support us,” Candelaria Fernandez, TCS striker, said.

“It’s been very cool selling coffee during this event. Although students aren’t big fans of coffee, the incredible logistics and the awesome event allow us to sell our product quite well,” Diego Alejandro, member of Fundación Juguemos en el Bosque, said.

Some outstanding performances

Just like any other sports tournaments, there were some highlighted athletes who received special attention because of their performances. Agility, precision, resistance, leadership, strength and jump ability were the main skills that differentiated some athletes in each sport.

“Two players have been very surprising, the central defender Isabel Mejia from our team and the central offensive midfielder from CNG, Giannineto number 10. They have both shown incredible technique and conviction to win every ball,” Kevin Lopez, PE teacher, said.

“In volleyball, I have found number 23 from Liceo Ingles, a very interesting player. In basketball, Mateo Zárate, Tomás Galeano and Miguel Romero from TCS. Finally, in futbol, CNG’s number 10 and Colegio Bolivar’s number 13,” Mesa said. 

“Nicolás Lloreda from CNG and number 23 from Liceo Ingles have been incredible rivals. It’s been an honor to play against them,” Lucas Aponte, volleyball player from Colegio Panamericano, said.