As the school year comes to a close, students are gearing up to take part in one of the Hill’s most celebrated traditions, the Irish 500. 

The Irish 500 will take place on May 20 in the Welch Activity Center. This event follows senior finals week and is the last time all students will be on campus. Each class is currently in the process of preparing teams to compete in the Irish 500. 

Dean of Students Mr. Ed Freije ‘99 explains the process of selecting participants. “Forming the teams is really up to the class moderators and class officers, whether that’s an email being sent out wondering who’s interested or they hand select the teams, but it’s really up to each of the classes,” Freije said. 

From each grade, four teams of four students must be formed and every team must be made up of two boys and two girls. On race day, each team must dress up in a specific theme. Students interested in competing may first create a team that meets all the requirements and then email their class moderator for further directions. 

The event will consist of five tricycle relay races. Each class will have its own race between the four teams from that grade. “There will be a freshman race, sophomore race, junior race and senior race. The winner of each class will then race against each other to see who is the Irish 500 champion,” Freije said.