The inaugural event of The Pilot Cup features the four area high school teams meeting in a volleyball jamboree at Union Pines beginning at 9 a.m.
O’Neal, Union Pines, North Moore and Pinecrest girls’ volleyball teams square off in a round-robin format, featuring six matches. The schools will play the best of five matches based on rally scoring. The first contest has Union Pines playing North Moore, followed by Pinecrest versus O’Neal. The event will last until 3:30 p.m. with each team playing the other once.
The cost for the daylong jamboree is $5.
The Pilot Cup will award points to each school based on finishes in the various events planned. The school finishing first in each event will get four points, while the second-place finisher gets three points, the third team gets two points and the fourth-finisher will get one point.
The scores will accumulate over the course of the school year with the winner of the overall competition getting The Pilot Cup, a one-of-a-kind trophy being built down in pottery country in northern Moore.
The highlight of the yearlong competition will be a first for the area. In late November, The Pilot Cup presents a three-day basketball tournament with both girls’ and boys’ teams from the area schools fighting it out for the county’s hoop bragging rights. Although the public schools have a long history of playing each other in basketball during the regular season, this will be the first time O’Neal is scheduled to take on the other county schools.
In another first for the county, all four schools will be meeting in one central location, Pinecrest High School, in a tournament setting.
The other event scheduled for the fall is cross country. Unfortunately, last weekend’s stormy weather blew The Pilot Cup girls’ tennis jamboree away. It was to take place at Union Pines, but because of scheduling difficulties was cancelled.
The Pilot Cup really takes flight during the spring season when the schools compete in track and field, boys’ tennis, golf, baseball, girls’ soccer and girls’ softball.
