Have you ever wondered how the idea of float building came to be? Teens— Building structures on a moving platform, on a shoestring budget, and letting teenagers ride on it parading around town– really? Who thinks of this? Long story short- someone a really long time ago.

The original float tradition started decades ago, though it has had its changes. Many years ago, our stadium used to have grass with a concrete track which served as the parade route. As our school, society, and community have changed, our traditions have changed as well.

As the principal for over 20 years, Mr. Sodl has witnessed many parades and many skits performed.

“There was one float with an actual ship built on it with smoke and cannon balls that actually shot out. Some of the dynamics of some of [the floats] and the special effects have been pretty interesting over time,” remarked Sodl, in remembrance of past floats.

As a prize for winning, the Class of 2020 created the Sodl Cup, a trophy made to celebrate Stroudsburg’s unique tradition. Every year starting from 2018, a new plaque is added to the trophy with the year, the class that won, and the skit they performed. Though this tradition was created well before Sodl became principal, this cup will become his legacy after he retires. He is confident that whoever replaces him after retirement, it will be a priority for the new principal to believe in the traditions as much as he does.

In order to win the Sodl Cup, there are multiple requirements for which participants will be scored, including the overall appearance and effect, the dance, music, and sound.

Each float is graded on a rubric with these categories, and there are several judges. The judges for this year’s competition are still to be determined, but Principal Sodl has confirmed that he will not be a judge because he is impartial. There are usually a few things that set one float above the others including the dance, skit, and sound.

This year the seniors chose the theme to be 80s movies. Each class voted on their skit.

Seniors: Footloose
Juniors: Ghostbusters
Sophomores: Back to the Future
Freshman: Hairspray

Sodl advises all of this year’s participants to “Have fun, get involved, and make sure your sound works.”