This September, the school saw the rise of the Knight Section Club, a social media- based club aimed at improving school spirit at sports games. Co-Presidents Tyler Martin, Jack Pappendick, and, later, Lucian Wood (all ’22) founded the club.

Knight Section manages an Instagram page, @knight. section, to inform students of upcoming games and psyches.

Their mission is to increase attendance and excitement for school games by spreading awareness with a constant stream of social media, Jack said.

“We wanted to create a space where we could effectively communicate game times and their locations to the student body,” Jack said.

“Through our Instagram account, we set up fun themes for student fan sections and game schedules each week,” he said. “We hope to create a place in our community for athletics to be celebrated and emphasized.”

Lucian wanted to boost school spirit after observing the lackluster fans for the past three years, he said.

“During my freshman and sophomore years, game attendance was minimal for students,” Lucian said.

“The fans were mostly parents, and the crowds were dispassionate.”

Recent athletic attendance has been high, especially at Friday Knight Lights games.

In the Boys Varsity Soccer game against St. Sebastian’s on October 1, “it was an amazing atmosphere,” Lucian said. “As someone who played in that game, I was feeding off that high energy.”

After Boys Varsity Soccer won the game, cheering fans flooded the field to celebrate the players.

“Winning that game was even more impactful because of the fans’ reaction,” Lucian said. “There was that constant noise and cheering that you’d expect from high school games.”

Other athletes have noticed the change, too.

“We even get more fans at far away games, where people might not have gone before the club’s creation,” Girls Varsity Soccer (GVS) Player Mattie Hung ’22 said.

“These people weren’t there by coincidence; they didn’t have coinciding games. They were there to support us.”

Fans bring energy to the games and help teams play better, Mattie said.

“I play with a lot more confidence when people are supporting me,” she said. “It’s a lot more fun if people are cheering you on.”

During GVS’ annual game against Noble and Greenough School, the winning school gains pride and a symbolic cowbell—part of a 37-year tradition between the two schools. On September 24, GVS won for the first time in 10 years before a crowd of fans who had traveled to Nobles for the game. Fan Thaddeus Foote ’22 brought mini-cowbells and handed them out to all the players after the win.

“I think school spirit definitely needs some boosting right now, and ideas like Knight Section are setting us on the right track,” Thaddeus said.

Varsity Volleyball Manager Michael Jiang ’25 said he’s appreciated the school spirit at games.

“I can tell it has a big effect on the players,” Michael said. “I know from my experience as a player that lots of fans make you feel more confident and play better. It’s an essential part of sports.”

Knight Section Club Faculty Advisor Christian Tonsgard said the newfound school spirit is exactly what we needed this year. “It sounded like a great idea when the three co- presidents first approached me,” Mr. Tonsgard said. “It has only gotten better. There is a need to get more student involvement, and the club members were interested in that.”

Knight Section continues to post about all upcoming games and events.