Small towns sure do seem to have some interesting traditions, and Kotzebue is no different. Fight Night is held at the high school once a year and it is basically an excuse for junior high and high school students, boys and girls, to try and beat the crap out of each other under the premise that it is a boxing match. Students are paired up with one another of a similiar gender/age/weight; this year there were about 16 fights all together.The gym is set up with a make shift boxing ring in the middle, one of the wresting coaches acts as the referee, and a good part of the town comes out to cheer on the "boxers." Each student gets a set of gloves and a boxing helmet; the junior high fights were three 30-second rounds and the high school fights were three one-minute rounds. Here is a picture of the "boxing ring:"
Of course, no good boxing match is complete with out judges. Here is a picture of the 3-stooges. They only got booed a few times. (Left to right: Joe, Clay, Michael)
None of the students are in good enough shape, or trained well enough to really be able to hurt each other. But, there were definitely some bloody noses and black eyes.
It's amazing the things you can do in bush Alaska when you are removed from the "real world!"
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