(November 22, 2002) — Three…two…one… As the buzzer rings, signaling the end of an exciting Ararat semi-finals game, cheers can be heard from the spectators as parents, siblings and friends make their way to congragulate and commend the players. Every year during this time Ararat holds a series of semi-finals games to determine which of their teams will be moving on to play in the final championship game. This game was held in the gym of Pasadena High School Nov. 10, and the participating teams were Ararat Team 1 and Team 2. Participating in this game were seniors Zareh Ambarsoomzadeh, Emin Khalafian, Ara Mahdessian, and Edrik Mehrabi, four Clark students that have been playing for Ararat for a number of years. Ararat, which mainly targets the Armenian American youth, is an example of one of the many organizations that students play for. Hovik Mahdessian who has been a basketball coach for Ararat for ten years commented, “This is a great opportunity for people of the same culture to get together and participate in a sport. It offers a safe and fun environment that provides an opportunity for children to learn both sports skills and life long skills as well.” Although basketball is the most popular sport that Ararat offers it also offers a variety of different sports teams such volleyball and tennis. Teams are set up according to age group and gender of the players. The semi-finals consisted of two 18 minute halves. Although the four students were divided amongst two teams with two on Team 1 and two on Team 2, Khalafian commented, “It’s fun to compete with my friends but the competition stays in the game. At the end of the day, we are all still friends!”