As the water balloons flew threw the air, there was no hope of avoiding the collision. Another FHN student faced the watery terror of the tennis team’s water balloon-selling fundraiser. Meanwhile, someone else shot to win cornhole, bought a shirt or sipped the sweet lemonade from the softball team. Once again, FHN hosted the annual Black and Gold Day on Aug. 12 to fundraise and showcase some of the upcoming sports, clubs and activities around the school.

“It’s about building community and pride for our school and it gives people a chance to see people within the school outside of that setting,” HOSA advisor Matthew Riffee said.

The HOSA medical health professions club had a booth set up with cornhole, raffles, suckers and information flyers to spread the word about their club. Like HOSA, many other clubs and sports used Black and Gold Day as an opportunity to fundraise for their activity by providing sweet treats and games for everyone to enjoy.

“My team bonded a lot today, which was good,” freshman volleyball player Brandi Stover said. “Out of volleyball, I wouldn’t normally hang out with some of the girls on the team, but we hung out a lot today, so I’m a lot closer with my teammates, which will help our performance on the court.”

Not only did the games at booths bring friends and teammates closer, but the parade of athletes allowed these teams to walk the track together, giving the spectators a chance to learn the teams.

“It’s a really good way to be able to hang out with friends and get to know people on the fall sports and support the sports teams,” freshman volleyball player Kate Sauer said.