The Edgewood Nerf War, although not school-run nor supported, has been a spring tradition for 10+ years here at EHS that even survived COVID.
Every year a group of seniors get together, plan the Nerf war, set up the social media, make any new rule additions, and collect payments.
Sophomore Carson Downie has participated in the Nerf War for the past two years and enjoys all of the exciting moments from it.
“I really enjoy the Nerf war. I have so many great memories from the Nerf war but my favorite would have to be when about four teams teamed up and showed up to my house and tried to fight my team which was inside, said Downie. “We were completely surrounded but ended up eliminating a few of them and we all stayed alive.”
Although there has been a lot of fun during the Nerf war, adults tend to not enjoy it as much as high schoolers. Activities such as staying out late after city curfew, blocking public streets, and going onto private property to get eliminations can annoy the older residents.
“Sometimes I feel that the driving part can get dangerous,” said Downie. “A bunch of teenagers chasing each other around town in cars probably isn’t the best idea but it is fun. I try to be as safe as possible while “nerfing” but some are not.”
Another sophomore, Jay Fultz, has also been in the Nerf war for two consecutive years. This year, Jay was named the winner of the Nerf war because he had the most eliminations.
“Anyone who says the Nerf war is a danger or nuisance to the public has never smiled once or had fun, I mean I can see how kids running in and out of establishments could get annoying but as long as they’re not destroying anything or driving away customers, what’s the big deal,” said Fultz.
Jay won it all this year, but in years past there’s been a debate on how to win. The past 5 years a team has won under the same recurring name.
“The team that runs it definitely rigs it to a degree, they didn’t have to pay in to play but they definitely had the most kills out of all the teams. the game would improve if the people who ran it didn’t participate in the war. I would also change the rules with the time calling, too many times they called time/untime and it’s no fun, everyone sits around and doesn’t do anything and when they untime it everyone leaves,” said Fultz.
There have been many complaints every year concerning the team running it all. Although it may be “rigged” to a degree, others still think it’s worth losing the money for some fun.
“While I do think the leading team rigs it and will win the money anyways, I think it’s worth it to play. With a team of 12 it’s less than $4 a person. To be able to have weeks’ worth of fun for $4 and memories you’ll never forget, it’s a great price,” said Downie.
Some students have spoken about fixing the Nerf war and possibly adding an additional game in the fall.
“The senior class could certainly develop a new game. I have seen many other schools have games such as Senior Assassin,” said Downie.
