By Sam Ekstedt
Feb, 5th 2024
There is a wide range of sports out there; from Soccer to Swim to Track, there’s something for everyone. The thrill of getting your body moving and competing against other players is both exhilarating and essential. But finding that community and passion for whatever sport suits you may not always be found in what one considers a traditional sport. To answer that need and provide a new experience, a relatively unknown sport has begun to emerge at HBHS in the form of the Student Interest Group, the Jugger Club.
In Germany during the early 1990s, inspired by the 1989 post-apocalyptic film, “The Blood of Heroes”, a new sport called Jugger was born. Jugger is widely played in Europe, having a league in Germany and, in May of 2007, even having an international Jugger Tournament. The President of HBHS Jugger Club, Aidan Phan, describes the sport as “...a physical combat sport that’s like a mix of fencing and kendo, but with foam weaponry. They learn how to efficiently wield different types of weapons and maximize energy usage to not tire out easily.” The game, Jugger closely follows how the sport appears in the film that inspired it. A typical game of Jugger’s goal is to take the ball or “Jugg” from the center of the field and place it in the goal or “mound” opposite the end of the field from where a team starts.
Photo by Elisa Rodriguez
“The game is incredibly casual in California, with a lot of safety measures in place to make sure that health is a priority,” remarked Phan, but he hopes that with more time and members, they can someday have a “League Day” where teams in the area could come together and have a tournament of their own.
Photo by Elisa Rodriguez
Until then, the Jugger Club is a fun and casual place to get active between classes and take a break from the school day. All of the equipment is provided by Phan, crafted specially for the sport by UC Berkley Alumni and a local weaponsmith at UCI. Phan strives to make the learning curve easy, so even if you’ve never heard of the sport, it won’t be long before you get the hang of it! It’s a fun environment where students meet “with a bunch of sticks at lunch and just [get] people to spar with their friends!” stated Phan. The Jugger Club meets every Friday on Union Avenue between the APA Building/Auditorium and the Music Building. If you’ve been looking for a fun, simple, and active experience, check out the HBHS Jugger Club!