The elimination of the food portion of the fall, winter and spring sports banquets brings negative and positive reactions about the end-of-year awards ceremony. On the bright side, it cuts off a good 30-45 minutes of unnecessary time creating faster and more to-the-point ceremonies. Many, however, enjoy the good food and good times spent with their fellow athletes.

On March 7, the AHS winter sports banquet was held in the auditorium. It was the first winter banquet without the banquet itself.

“Going to sports banquets without food is better because it went by a lot faster, even though it wasn’t as fun,” sophomore Joe Bermingham said.

Due to this change in procedure, coaches seem to be more prone to having their own banquet where food is present instead of attending the school-held banquet. Among others, winter track is a prime example of this decision. Gathering at MaGill’s Famous Pizza & Buffet, athletes paid $10 for all you can eat pizza, salad and ice cream as they listened to awards being announced by the array of track coaches.

“I liked having [the banquet] separate because I got it done and over with, and didn’t have to worry about it later. Also, it was shorter and I got to eat and hang out with my friends,” junior Sabrina Romano said.

While some like the separate ceremony with food, others were perfectly content with the newly revised banquet held at AHS.

“I’ve never been to a banquet with food, but it wouldn’t matter to me if it was there or not because I only care about being there with my team,” freshman Hannah Coulter said.

Food or no food, sports banquets are a great way for athletes and coaches to spend one last time together as a team and congratulate each other for all their hard work and commitment.