With the fall sports season under way, proper hydration and nutrition are incredibly important. To help ensure this, CHS hosted G-Week, otherwise known as Gatorade Week, during the first week of school for all fall sports teams.

“[Gatorade] runs G-Week, where they provide a variety of their products to our athletic programs and provide information on how to prepare your body better for athletics before, during and after playing,” Athletic Director Scott Rivinius said.

Gatorade is not sponsoring CHS sports as there are no monetary benefits; rather, it is a promotional tactic that many high schools in MCPS, such as Quince Orchard and Walter Johnson, are taking advantage of, according to Rivinius.

For the promotion, a Gatorade representative came to CHS to provide information about the specific products. High school athletes had the opportunity to try the products such as pre-workout chews and protein shakes, and could opt out if they chose.

According to Gatorade.com, Gatorade is searching for innovative ways to help athletes perform at their peak by facilitating proper hydration and nutrition.

“On the really tough days, [Gatorade products] help the athletes recover quickly,” cross-country coach Paul Jacobson said.

However, even with the company’s claims and other athletes’ approval, some students doubted the advantages of Gatorade because of the short-term availability of the product.

“Since the cross-country team only got promoted with free products for three days, I couldn’t tell if Gatorade made a difference, but it was definitely a fun experience nevertheless,” senior varsity cross-country runner Alexandra Conway said.

The promotion also led to some non-athletes to ask about whether the athletes had a say in what to drink, either Gatorade, water or both.

According to varsity soccer player Dan Cohen, the soccer team always has one water and one Gatorade cooler, so they can drink either or both.

According to Conway, the promotion helped get everyone excited and made the team feel more serious and legitimate, which ultimately promoted team bonding.

Since G-Week was a relatively new feature at CHS, it is unclear whether it will be continued. However, there are hopes that its success this year will bring it back in the future.

“This was a successful program so I hope that we can have another G-Week with Gatorade in the future,” Rivinius said.