For many high schoolers, agendas and extracurricular activities sometimes hit a snag. The members of Catch Fraise, Fresno Christian’s Destination Imagination (DI) team, recently learned this when, due to an unforeseen clash in scheduling, were not able to attend their state competition held in San Jose.

The main reason for this, the group decided, was the coincidence of Sadie Hawkins with their competition, which both took place on April 10.

Because of this fact, team leader Gigi Thao, ’12, chose not to sign the team up for State.

“The most prominent reason to not go was the lack of people able to attend,” Thao said. “Because the team learned the date after the competition, most of us were preoccupied on that date [with Sadies].”

At regionals, Catch Fraise competed in the category of Direct Deposit, which combines a skit with teamwork and acting, and a building section.

For the building portion, teams constructed a device which could move an object from point A to point B, and brought it to the competition. Catch Fraise completed their engineering portion by creating a crane, which picked up foam balls and moved them in a claw-like PVC pipe mouth.

Some members, like Zed Fries, ’12, say the ruling by Thao was unfair. Fries, who did not attend Sadies or any other event on the disputed date, helped manufacture and set up the team’s crane.

“I don’t think it’s fair especially since I got three family members to come and help spend time on it so we could go to State,” Fries said.

Thao says her decree may have been harsh, but stands by her reasoning.

“I think it is a bit unfair, but truth be told, DI is a commitment, not just another extracurricular,” Thao said. “But it’s also no one’s fault that the teammates already had prior commitments.”

Team member Dana King, ’12, decided to attend Sadies as soon as she learned the dates conflicted.

“Even though I really enjoyed working for DI with the team, I love school events more,” King said. “I did have a great time at Sadies and if I have the choice I would stick with my decision.”

Reflecting on the past season, Thao says the team acquired a new level of excellence this year. Catch Fraise not only went on from Regionals to State, but also received a first in their division. Thao also says had the team chosen to compete, they would have elevated to Worlds, the final level of the DI program.

“I think that at State we would have made it to Worlds,” Thao said. “I was actually quite excited when we started because this was an entirely new project and I felt that we would make it farther than last year. I knew that we would have gotten to State, but I was just unsure about when it was and where.”

For more information about DI, read the March 15 article, Catch Fraise captures division title.