Tradition is viewed– in isolation– a contradictory concept that champions the ideological burden of connoting repetition and fixity while naturally also being opposed to transformation. You seek comfort in familiarity and thus, make no effort to change circumstances in fear of familiarity dissolving, causing your safety net to disappear along with it. This is perhaps why most major events in Monash are organised the way it is. Why change tradition when we have a perfectly good framework to depend on and why bother problematizing an aspect of Monash culture that is naturally resistant to change. 

We don’t propose a change to Monash Cup, rather it is extremely evident that the organisers held for the transformation of tradition through static and dynamic repetition which perhaps was called due to the 10th anniversary of Monash Cup taking place this year. Ten whole years of competition and the ritualistic play of rivalry persisted and for what reason? We hold so much significance to arbitrarily assigned social identities that hold no meaning whatsoever outside of Monash yet, this ritualistic rivalry intertwines with sportsmanship and the recognition of competitor tenacity. 

The itinerary for the day remains a repetition of tradition similar to the very concept of me writing this article once more for two years in a row. I embrace tradition, conserving the dichotomy of repetition (I write this article now with warmth and contempt in my heart) and transformation (I am slightly smarter now than I was a year ago). 

The cheerleaders encroached upon the Monash Cup as if they had something to prove. Not implying that it isn’t a legitimate sport– you try tossing a human being across the air and not murder them– rather it was finding a place in our very Malaysian context while being a sport stereotypically associated with peppy American students who swear they have moxie. The cheerleaders from all four houses competed and performed their amalgamation of dance and gymnastics. You see it within their intricately choreographed routine that much went into the curation and execution. Ultimately, Opinicus emerged victorious and Tori Vega was sufficiently amused. I think we’re all cheerleaders, following Leviathan in second place, Manticore in third, and Culebre in fourth. 

We made our journey to the concourse. The dance finals took place first. It was rhythmic and a very evident homage to Korean pop influences which aren’t uncharted territories at all for the dance communities in Monash anyway. It was a great maintenance of the characteristically Monash campus culture with crowds yearning for an escape from their quasi-bureaucratic routine of studying and immersing themselves in corporate culture. Monash Cup was perhaps the soft raves we hear about in popular media. Not the collectivisation and congregation of people in liminal spaces, rather it was the assembling of Monash students at the concourse. All houses danced their way to the finals and Manticore won first place. 

The night progressed further with the Cypher cheerleading performance along with a special alumni performance by JP who beatboxed. The winners of the Monash Cup interhouse competitions performed next. Once again paying homage to bringing club culture into Monash spaces, irrevocably championed by the yearning of students to engage in party culture that is sanitised and polished. 

After all the performances, they announced the winners of all sport competitions included in the Monash Cup. Following this was the overall house winner of the Monash Cup. It was none other than Opinicus. Manticore, Culebre, and Leviathan followed respectively. 

Camaraderie seems like a blasé and naive concept considering the complexities of human relationships. However, the performance of hope and strength invaded our space, the house captains shook hands and cheered on the victors despite their shortcomings. 

Recognising camaraderie and sportsmanship in events like these is imperative. Cheer on the winners and consolidate the runner ups for their hard work. We await for the subsequent Monash Cup and their strengthening of the human alliance. 

Written by Yashven Jayabalan

Photos by May Ping and Simra