The rubber floors of the Bedford gym are invaded by juniors and seniors every Thursday night to partake in a fun and jokingly competitive matchup of basketball that will be discussed for the entire week until the following Thursday, where they will continue to do the same thing. This is a tradition for upperclassmen at Staples.

Now, some room needs to be made for the ladies.

Until now, there has not been a rec league for girls in high school, but one night, Lauren Kratky ’11, Jaclyn Katz ’11, Ali Crofts ’12 and Amanda Pacilio ’12 decided that they should at least try to make one.

“I know rec basketball has been talked about for a few years but nobody has gone forward with the plan so this year we just decided to take action to make it start,” Pacilio said.

The girls say they miss the feeling of a laid back sports experience.

“I played girls rec up until eighth grade and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had on a sports team,” Kratky said. “It isn’t a huge commitment and you don’t have to be the greatest athlete ever to play so it attracts more people than you would see on, say, a varsity sports team. That is part of what makes the experience so great I think.”

Boys rec is one of the biggest phenomena to come to Staples in recent history, and the girls have high hopes for the league as well, Kratky said there are around sixty girls who are interested in signing up for it.

“I believe that it will not be as big as boys rec since the boys obviously live for rec basketball but we will have a lot of fun playing,” Pacilio said.

Not only are girls getting excited for the league, it’s also attracting interest from guys, too, “We even have guys coming up to us and asking if they can help coach or manage the teams so we need to see if that would even be possible. There is a lot of thought going into organizing this,” Kratky said.

The excitement on the girls end looks high, Kratky said that in eighth grade, her team fashioned a cucumber into a mascot for each of their games.

“I definitely think that this is going to be a big deal. It’s ridiculous that girls didn’t have a rec league before this and now that we are starting one I think people are going to get really into it,” Kratky said.

If girls are interested in participating in girls rec basketball this winter, they should send an e-mail to [email protected]