The basketball teams at Saints Peter and Paul High School in Easton, Md., recently acted as international diplomats.
The Sabres welcomed their counterparts from St. Luke’s Grammar School in Sydney, Australia, for a pair of exhibition games and some fellowship.
D.J. Davis, the athletic director at Saints Peter and Paul, said he heard last spring from the company organizing St. Luke’s American visit about the possibility of staging games in Easton.
“We thought it was a unique opportunity, so we decided to take it on,” he said.
The Australian team was in the United States for two weeks during its summer break, which in Australia happens at the same time as our winter. According to Davis, they make the trip every two years.
Saints Peter and Paul hosted a boys and a girls game on Dec. 10. After the basketball, the teams got together to eat and socialize. The teams also exchanged gifts. St. Luke’s players stayed in Washington, D.C., the night before the games in Easton, and they returned to the capital after the games, Davis said.
They were in North Carolina a few days before that, and they had a trip to New York planned for basketball and to experience the city, he added. Davis said he believed the St. Luke’s contingent also would attend a National Football League game as well.
Davis said the Saints Peter and Paul students benefited from the opportunity to learn about a different country’s culture
“It was awesome to see everyone come together after the games and share experiences with one another,” he said. “We actually played the Australian national anthem along with our own prior to the game. It was neat to have an international setting.”
