High School sports are just blah without a little rivalry, and what better way to celebrate a little competition than with a rivalry trophy?

As the Polson Pirates and Lady Pirates, and Ronan Chiefs and Maidens head into their first full weekend of fall sports prep action, the cross-county and Northwestern A rivals will not only be squaring off for local bragging rights but also a purple and orange painted canoe paddle to place in the glass trophy case at the end of the year.

Starting its second season, the “Battle for the Paddle” was introduced as an opportunity to strengthen the athletic programs of both schools, rekindle the friendly rivalry between the two schools, and help motivate students to get involved in all the extra-curricular activities.

“I thought it was a great idea to help keep growing the friendly rivalry between the two deeply connected communities,” said Ronan High School Activities Director Mitchell Wassam.

“We always want fans in the seats supporting their teams,” said Polson High School Activities Director Ethan Bucarey. “We are hoping that this helps strengthen that student fanbase and helps both students and athletes continue to feel invested in athletics.”

The traveling-trophy is a standard-length wooden canoe paddle with the teams’ logos on one side and the phrase “Battle for the Paddle” painted on the other.

Each year’s winner is determined by a cumulative points system that includes meetings in all sports between the two schools throughout the year. The school with the most points in the spring gets to paint a stripe of the school’s color on the handle and hold onto the paddle until the next stripe is determined the following season.

“The student-athletes were excited about it,” said Wassam. “It gave a little more incentive to the competitions throughout the year.”

The paddle is currently in the paint shop receiving a purple stripe. Polson won the inaugural season 15-5.

The “Battle for the Paddle” kicks off with the Ronan Golf Invitational on Thursday hosted at the Mission Mountain Golf Club in Ronan followed by the Ronan cross country team hosted Canal Run on Friday, Sept. 2.