Powder Puff Season

Alyssa Gin and Christian Vega
April 6, 2023

The Powderpuff 2023 season has BEGUN! Boys are practicing for their cheerleading performance, and the girls’ teams have begun their practices. The junior vs senior game will take place on April 6. Make sure to support your team this year!

Powderpuff is an annual all-girls flag football competition. Composed of a junior and senior team, the Powderpuff sports has many girls participating. The girls are being coached by football players Anthony Irons and David Perez. Senior practices occur on Monday and Wednesday, while juniors practice on Tuesday and Thursday.

P.E. teacher Judy Samaha began Powderpuff in Connecticut, in 1972. As a female athlete, her goal was to incorporate more women in athletic activities. Now widely adopted around the country, Powderpuff is a tradition that many girls (and male cheerleaders) participate in.

As more women compete and participate in male-dominated sports and activities, conversations arise on gender and its role in sports. One common example is X-League – a women’s American football league that has a history of controversy. Many critics argue against revealing uniforms that are mainly used for marketing purposes. Recently, the Lingerie Football League has been renamed the Legends Football League. As the issue of women’s rights and representation arises over the past decades, Powderpuff plays a new and important role to many of Downey’s players.

Make sure to see your Downey Vikings play on April 6. Go Vikings!

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About the Contributors

Alyssa Gin, Writer

Coming back to The Downey Legend for the second year in a row, Alyssa Gin, 12, returns in hopes of preparing herself for college and the future. Gin has been getting ready for this moment for the past 4 years, committing to playing Varsity Girls’ Tennis and volunteering in the Assistance League of Downey. Gin has been ‘experimenting’ with the possibilities of her future, trying different courses within school and accepting new opportunities to learn. Although she believes that getting involved is important, in her free time, her favorite thing to do is going to concerts, shopping, reading, and hanging out with her friends. Gin holds her family close to her heart and values the support she constantly receives and feels from them.

“What motivates me through life is my family,” said Gin. “...and also I motivate myself.”

Christian Vega, Illustrator

As his time in high school comes to an end, Christian Vega, 12, hopes to broaden his art and communication skills as a first-year illustrator for The Downey Legend. Along with joining different classes and clubs to experiment with his art style, Vega is also involved in many science-based clubs on campus. Off campus, you'll find Vega practicing guitar or ukulele, or exploring nature. Vega's plans after high school, include going to a four-year college, expand his perspective on nature, and hopefully one day write a book about himself. At home, he entertains a range of pets, including 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a lizard.

Vega first began practicing art 7 years ago, finding a lot of his inspiration from the natural elements of the outside world. He dedicates his time improving his art skills by studying techniques or various artists and art styles.

"I've always liked the idea of being able to create art pieces that are very subjective and that you can't really judge upon. You can always have opinions but you can't say this is right or wrong." vega said. "What I liked about it is I was able to explore it indefinitely without limitations. . . It's a good experience to explore new things and discover yourself in the process."