The end of the beginning for sports in volume 92

C/O Felix Wong

Lessons learned at the end of my first year with the Silhouette

“Make some noise for your . . . McMaster . . . Marauders!” 

These are the words I’ve heard countless times this year. In my time as the sports staff writer for the Silhouette, event staff for varsity games and an executive on the McMaster Women’s Football team, I’ve become more immersed in the McMaster sports scene than I expected at the beginning of the year.  

I’ve gotten to meet so many people with such interesting stories and it’s been an honour to cover them. I’ve watched the basketball teams struggle and succeed, gained an appreciation for football and volleyball and learned about less-covered sports such as curling, wrestling and Nordic skiing.  

Writing for the Silhouette hasn’t been smooth sailing the whole time. Speaking of which, Mac has a sailing team that you should check out if you’re interested. I applied for the position on a whim because I was interested in sports and interested in writing. However, by the end of first semester, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue.  

I reflected and ultimately decided to remain in the position. I started writing articles about what I was interested in, one of my favourites being “Body neutrality within dance,” and pulled from all I had learned about interviewing and writing. I focused my attention on the personal side of sports, wanting to hear about the highs and lows from everyone.  

My favourite part of the position was meeting so many incredible people. I’ve talked to McMaster’s first two female football coaches, members of the Black Student Athlete Council, an Olympic gold medalist, a McMaster Sports Hall of Famer, McMaster Sports’ Associate Director of High Performance, some good friends and the rest of the Sil staff. I’ve taken away lessons from my conversations with every individual and I never would have had the opportunity without the Silhouette.  

What I’ve taken away from this experience is that without these conversations and without giving these teams and issues the spotlights they deserve, we can never notice the small victories that each team gains. By learning more about them, we can celebrate, mourn and learn with them, helping the teams feel seen as representatives of McMaster and helping us maintain positive school spirit.  

While I don’t know what I’ll be doing for the rest of my time here at Mac, I hope I can still be involved with the sports scene and the Silhouette.