Del Val hosted its first rock-paper-scissors tournament on Sept. 2. The event, hosted by Supervisor of Special Projects Kristina Sterbenc, Director of Curriculum Tara Civitillo and Principal Michael Kays, brought together students, staff and administrators in a school-wide competition for two free Homecoming tickets.

Upon entering campus, students were handed blue bead necklaces to keep track of their wins. Staff members wore gold beads, and administrators wore gold medals. The rules were taught by Kays during class meetings and during the morning announcements.

“It is best out of one, students need to face off back-to-back… and then count to three or do the cadence of ‘rock, paper, scissors,’ and they turn and shoot,” Kays said. “Whoever wins gets all of the beads of the other person, so once you lose, you’re out completely. Any student who has amassed 10 student beads can then challenge an administrator for their gold beads. To enter the [final] tournament by lunchtime, they need to beat two staff members. If you beat two staff members, you can also challenge an administrator.”

Civitillo discovered the idea on social media and thought it would be a good back-to-school activity. The tournament was hosted in the hopes of encouraging new relationships among students and providing something to look forward to in the new year.

“We saw it [online] and looked really fun,” Civitillo said. “Kids were really excited about it, and we were like ‘Let’s give it a try.’… so we tried it, and I think it was a good morning….”

After a morning of competitions, students who met the criteria were invited to join the finale during lunch in the Hutch Gym. The 12 finalists were then placed in seed order, starting with senior Esteban Perez as the twelfth seed, up to sophomore Grady Fransen as the first. Perez began the tournament, and the winner of each round competed against the next-highest seeded player.

Spectators watched in anticipation, and after multiple ties between senior Chuck Aluka and Fransen, Aluka took the crown as Del Val’s first rock-paper-scissors champion. As the third seed, Aluka felt full confidence in his ability.

“I swept everybody,” Aluka said. “I knew I was gonna win.”

The event was a success, and Kays noted the positive impact it had on the Del Val community.

“I think it just brings all of the students together,” Kays said. “I know we’re coming back from a long summer break, and it takes a lot to do the wake-ups in the morning and get into the routine of things, so this was a nice way for students to interact. We had some students who got to play against each other that had never met before, and it was a good way to have everyone feel good about the day.”

This story was originally published on The Delphi on September 4, 2025.