FIRST PERSON
Christian Roque
Chronicle Reporter
It seems to be the only thing that’s been on my mind as of late: the great Key Club Fall Rally. Canceled last year due to COVID-19 concerns, as all things have been, it came back, just as if nothing had ever happened. I’ve always been a big fan of the idea of the event ever since I first went to one back in 2019: a lighthearted charity event on steroids.
So, how much different was it compared to two years ago? Surprisingly, even with everyone having to abide by COVID-19 safety guidelines, things were nearly identical to the one held in 2019. Let’s break it down for the Sheiks who haven’t gone to one.
Fall Rally is an annual event hosted by the California Nevada Hawaii (CNH) District of Key Club. It takes place at Magic Mountain, with tickets to the theme park being around half off for the members attending. The main attractions are the rallies that are held throughout the day at the Golden Bear Theatre where Key Club officers are auctioned off to divisions other than their own to get to know each other. The money raised during the auctions and part of the ticket sales goes to the Pediatric Trauma Program (PTP), an organization promoting pediatric trauma prevention.
A huge part of the event as a whole are the so-called Spirit Battles between different divisions, which boil down to screaming contests (which I mean in the best possible way) to see who can recite the division’s chants or “cheers” with the most “spirit.” These can happen as divisions encounter each other while roaming around the park, and they’re also prominently featured in the actual rally. The mandatory Spirit Sessions held before every Fall Rally are where members learn and practice these cheers.
The main rally itself this year was a bit underwhelming, for our division at least. After guest appearances from several CNH Key Club staff members and Tweety Bird, we did some auctioning of different LTGs, with our LTG being sold for around $500. During the Spirit Battles at the rally, we only got to the first round and lost, so we mostly spent the main rally sitting it out, watching everyone else cheering their lungs out.
The rest of your time spent there is free time. You get to enjoy everything you normally would at Magic Mountain; the rides, the food, and the long lines for both of those things.
But, there is one major downside to this experience in my opinion: you have to get up early. Really early. The bus going to Magic Mountain leaves at 6:30 a.m. from Hoover High School in Glendale. I personally woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready to go, which wasn’t fun since I stayed up until 11 p.m. the previous night preparing for the rally. I tried to sleep on the bus to make up for it, only to be constantly woken up by everyone on the bus practicing cheers unexpectedly.
While this will be the last time I go, I hope that this article encourages somebody to go for their first time. It genuinely is an amazing spectacle of hard work, passion and talent by students from this particular district of Key Club. From the awesome shirts and spirit gear I saw people wearing to the fierce shouting at the Golden Bear, I’ll never forget the Fall Rally.