Even the most sacred traditions come to an end.

This year, the beloved Homecoming “pushcart derby” was replaced with the “Little 400,” a tricycle race with four people on each team. 

English teacher and Homecoming sponsor Jessica Hunter cites the increased risk of physical harm to students as the primary reason for moving away from the pushcart race.

 “Students have become much more competitive and equally as athletic,” Hunter says. “And in that competitive, athletic nature, teams are vying for the win. Running full speed with a wheel coming off begs itself for injury.”

According to Hunter, safety concerns behind the pushcart race became obstacles too large to overcome.

“We have had students cut portions of their heel,” she says. “We have had students run into other students during a heat. We have had wheels fall off. We have had bolts come out.”

The pushcart race had been a tradition for a long time, however, even before the Homecoming  festivities saw their rise.

“We used to have parties once a semester if students maintained a certain GPA, and I think that is how the pushcart race began,” Hunter says. “And then when the grade parties disappeared over time, probably ten years later, Homecoming was born, and we put the pushcart [race] in that.”