APAC: The Revival

By Kelly Lee '25

After 3 years of nothingness, of unclarity in seasons, of virtual meets and competitions, the Asia Pacific Activities Conference, or APAC, has finally come back. With team spirits now soaring and short but sweet traveling happening for various teams in both athletics and fine arts, students are once again given the opportunity to share parts of their high school experiences with others. These athletes and performers have dedicated their time and effort to these activities for the past few weeks, if not months or years – and APAC has always been the final showcase of all of these times, efforts, dedication, and teamwork put together.

Dedicating time to any type of athletics or fine arts is not an easy thing to do – because time is limited, and we all eventually face the reality of having to prioritize and make choices, even among the things that we would like to do most. Most, if not all of us have multiple activities as well as schoolwork, clubs, and other extra-curricular activities that go on beyond school; however, as seasons go by, students are seen to fully pour themselves into the sports or arts of the APAC season.

Sadly, due to the pandemic and the restrictions on gathering and traveling, this opportunity has been absent for the past 3 years. Especially seniors this year have either not been able to participate in any APAC opportunities or have only seen very, very limited versions. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors as well have lost so much to COVID – and APAC was one of the many major events that had been hugely affected. But, once again, after all the waiting, all the challenges, and all the exploring of virtual formats that we can possibly think of, the doors have once again opened for any athlete, musician, or dancer that would like to take on the challenge.

With the late but new start, APAC’s legacy and spirit now depends on us. We are the beginning of a new record, of a new memory, of a new era, that will be passed onto future generations – and it is very important that we build upon the shared experiences of past students, developing our methods of enjoying events and writing new chapters of APAC history at SAS Puxi. With that, congratulations to all athletes and performers that have participated in APAC in the past few weeks, and good luck to those that will be competing in the future!

Senior Editor: Sage Yan '24