A new face is buzzing around Maple Ridge Christian School after the school revealed its first mascot Hype the Hornet.
His bright yellow body and signature blue MRCS Hornets jersey will be a common sight at many upcoming sports events at the Maple Ridge school.
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The mascot was unveiled on Jan. 25 after a school-wide competition to come up with a name for him, with more than 100 different names being submitted, said MRCS director of community engagement Alyson Westra.
Hype was chosen as the winning entry, and is a fitting choice explained Grade 12 student Zeke Kroeker.
“Everyone seems pretty excited about it,” said Kroeker. “Everyone’s pretty hyped about Hype the Hornet.”
Kroeker is one of several people who have donned the Hype outfit, and although he’s never been a mascot before, he jumped at the chance to do it, saying that it seemed like a fun opportunity.
“Our school has been recently getting really into school and team spirit and having a mascot is a fun part of that,” he said.
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The school is still figuring out who will be bringing Hype to life at the school’s events, explained Westra.
Lead principal Quentin Flokstra said that so far they’ve had both kids and parents wearing the costume.
“It’s a collaborative effort,” laughed Flokstra.
But regardless of who wears the costume, Westra said that students can expect to see the mascot at a wide variety of events at the school.
“Hype will be at volleyball, basketball, cross-country, track and field, ball hockey, badminton, ultimate, and more,” she said.
Hype will be especially instrumental in cheering on the school’s basketball teams, which are both doing very good this year, said Westra.
In the latest rankings, the MRCS boys team was ranked third for 1A teams in the province, with the girls team getting honourable mention.
Chantelle Olsson-Chang, director of donor relations, said that Hype represents a historic step for the school and specifically thanked their sponsor New World Waterproofing for allowing this mascot to become a reality.
