Volleyball carnivals set to tip off season.
F or a few schools, students and teachers in the Imperial Valley, Monday means the start of the 2017-2018 school year.
Rolling out the start of the school year ahead of a few other districts, is the Central Union High School District, with one of its schools playing host to the annual junior varsity and varsity volleyball carnivals.
As per tradition, Southwest High’s spacious gym will play host to both carnivals this year, with the JV event taking place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday and the varsity event taking place at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Since its inception, the carnival has continued to grow in participation with numerous Valley schools turning out to attend the event.
Last season, the Eagles played host to a number of local and out of town programs including Calipatria, Calexico, Holtville and Desert Mirage to name a few.
The carnival is usually the first time teams will have the opportunity to scrimmage against opponents other than themselves and also allows coaches to see their athletes in action before the first official game of the year.
Host Southwest High will open its season on Aug. 29 at home against Coachella Valley before opening Imperial Valley League action on the road traveling to face Palo Verde Valley on Sept. 12.
Southwest High will be a popular place on Thursday as it is also set to host the junior varsity and freshman football carnival on its football and baseball fields.
While Thursday’s competitions will not reflect on any of the teams’ overall schedules, it does signal the nearing of the fall sports season, which is always exciting to take in.