The Royal-Thomian cricket encounter has been the pinnacle of the schools’ sporting calendar for over 125 years now. Every boy from the two schools (well, almost every boy) who is interested in cricket, socializing, or both, waits in eager anticipation of this annual clash of titans. 

The annual Royal-Thomian cricket encounter, as much as being a very looked forward to event, is also steeped in tradition. Some of these traditions are constructive-some not quite so.  

The two pre Royal –Thomian events any student from either Royal or S. Thomas’ looks forward to the most are the Cycle Parade and, of course, Trucking (which is not an officially recognized tradition, and constitutes breaking the law, mind you). 

Moving on, the cycle parade is an extremely important part of Big Match preparations. As most of you know (and if you don’t, shame on you), the Cycle Parade is a gathering, and parading of all the students who wish to support their cricket team. When inquired as to what they thought of the Parade, the Prefects’ spokesman, Isaac, told the Ternion that he thought that the Cycle Parade has been carried out in a very decent manner in the past years, and the only thing he had to say was he thought that the cricketers should maybe accompany the boys, following the Parade in a truck, in order to motivate them to come for the Match (as if our chaps need any more motivation). 

The College chaplain, when asked, stated that the Cycle Parade should be conducted in a manner that does not disturb other people on the public roads. That perhaps we should move in organized patches instead of as a whole group, as this would prevent hindering the blocking of the highways. He stated that one should always conduct oneself in a manner that is not selfish, so as not to be a hindrance to the community. 

Mr. Maurice, the Headmaster of the Upper School, when asked what he thought of the cycle parade, stated that he thought that it is a very good tradition, as it inculcates in the children a sense of being Thomians, and rallying under the College banner as a collective institution. He added, though, that this should not be marred by indiscipline, bad behaviour, or, for that matter, obscene use of language and song. 

The Sub Warden, when presented with this same question replied, (rather bluntly) that he felt there should be more cycles, and less trucks. He felt that the boys should use their imagination more, in order to liven up the event, so that it would be more than just a sponsored ride. Face paint, school colours, decorated hats, perhaps, were his suggestions as to how to brighten the parade up. Furthermore, he stated that he would prefer it if more boys from the higher forms would attend the event, as there are many of the older students who prefer not to attend this event that constitutes clean fun. 

Now, for the main issue-trucking. An honoured Big Match tradition, or is that title just a flowery veil to hide the fact that trucking is merely a bunch of immature students in a hormone induced frenzy, just waiting for a scapegoat in order for them to have the opportunity to jump into girls schools and have a little ‘fun’? The answer to that question is very opinionated. The Prefect body stated that trucking was all right, as long as it’s done properly. That it is all done in the Big Match Spirit. When asked how jumping into girls schools embodied the Spirit of the Match, the Prefects refrained from commenting.  

However, the Chaplain had exactly the same thing to say that he had to say about the Cycle Parade. He said, and I quote, “As much as it gives joy and pleasure to some, it also is a nuisance to other people. Thomians must remember, in whatever they do, that they must be concerned about everyone else who’s involved.” 

Mr. Maurice, when inquired as to his outlook on trucking initially stated that he thought it was a wonderful thing, and, like the Cycle parade, inculcated in the boys a sense of unison under one banner. This reporter asks the general public in favour of trucking to forgive him, but there was some confusion in my mind when I heard one of our reputed headmasters speaks in such strong favour of this. Therefore, I asked him if he was aware of what trucking was, and explained to him the activities that take place during this. He was appalled. “In my time, trucking meant a bunch of boys getting into a truck with a brass band, and driving around Colombo, waving the school flag. And a hat collection was where one stopped the truck on the side of the road and put ones hat down, so that people could put money into it, in support of the Big Match Spirit, and the boys.” Mr. Maurice stated that he was appalled to learn that modern day trucking included jumping into girls schools, and taking ‘hat collections’ from classes. He stated that it was a vulgarization of a very clean tradition. In his day, he added, a group of boys were even suspended from school for disrupting the daily activity of a shop. Heaven forbid they disrupt the daily activity of a ladies school. 

The Sub Warden stated that trucking was indeed a very dangerous event, and that boys have died while trucking in the past. He asked all ‘truckers’ to remember that safety comes first, and that as long as the boys didn’t hurt themselves, or get ‘copped’, he was fine with it. He further stated that, boys being boys, they needed to engage in something that gave them a kick, however, that whoever does go trucking, should do it in a sense of clean fun, and that the idea is to make ones presence felt. He also said, and I quote, “The ladies schools should understand that this is not something that happens every day. They should, in my opinion, tolerate the boys. However, this hat collection is a very low thing. It is inappropriate. It should be confined to places where there are old boys. I do not condone going to girls schools and asking for money. No Thomian should stoop to that.” 

Well, there you have it, gentlemen. I have merely brought forward the facts. It is up to you to decide how you will conduct yourselves. After all, it is evident that there are varying opinions pertaining to these two addressed issues.  

“Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?” 

Esto Perpetua.