Good sportsmanship

In Bible Quizzing, we study hard and practice hard so that we can do our best and hopefully win at Midwinter, Districts, and Nationals. But ultimately, we do not quiz only to win, but to learn God's Word and treasure it up in our hearts. It is important to remember why you do what you do, and to remember that ultimately good sportsmanship is as important as playing hard. Consider this story from Oregon about a girl's softball game.

At the plate, Tucholsky concentrated on ignoring the wise guys. She took strike one. And then the senior did something she had never done before -- even in batting practice. The career .153 hitter smashed the next pitch over the center field fence for an apparent three-run home run.

The exuberant former high school point guard sprinted to first. As she reached the bag, she looked up to watch the ball clear the fence and missed first base. Six feet past the bag, she stopped abruptly to return and touch it. But something gave in her right knee; she collapsed on the base path...

ut on senior day, the first baseman volunteered a simple, selfless solution to her opponents' dilemma: What if the Central Washington players carried Tucholsky around the bases?

The umpires said nothing in the rule book precluded help from the opposition. Holtman asked her teammate junior shortstop and honors program student Liz Wallace of Florence, Mont., to lend a hand. The teammates walked over and picked up Tucholsky and resumed the home-run walk, pausing at each base to allow Tucholsky to touch the bag with her uninjured leg.

As we pratice and as we quiz, let's remember that at the end of the day, winning is only one part of the game.