As the sun rose on the oval that day, three friends set down their things and prepared themselves. They had all been friends for years but, as they stood next to one another on that oval, all they could do was wait in awkward silence. Today was the day: it was finally their chance to prove themselves. 

“So,” said Tonk, the giant octopus, “How is everyone? Are you nervous?”

There was a moment’s silence before either of the other friends responded.

“Not today, Tonk,” said Tay, the small (but supremely overconfident) rabbit. 

“Really, Tay? Are you really going to be that way?” said Tibo the owl, munching on some dino nuggets in preparation for the events. Everybody had always thought that Tibo had a strange diet, especially for a top athlete, but nobody ever said anything; Tibo always achieved results. 

“Yes, today especially, Tibo,” said Tay. “Today, we’re not friends, we’re rivals.”

Tonk and Tibo went silent, looking at the ground, knowing deep down that Tay was right. They were undoubtedly rivals today.

The wind blew gently across the oval, leaves floating and twirling in the sky like ballet dancers. Towards the back of the oval was a small grandstand where a scouting agent sat. Tay, Tonk, and Tibo had asked the agent to assess them and select the best member for the new “Custom Triathlon” relay team. This event involved three random sports that were intended to be performed consecutively by a different team member each time. These tryouts were only a yearly event, and they were all aware of the brevity of the moment.

Suddenly, as the three friends were standing around the oval, a bellow echoed from the grandstand. 

“Good afternoon, everyone! Today the “Custom Triathlon” events will consist of: basketball dunking, a gymnastics performance, and a final swimming race. You will receive points for each event separately, and at the end of all three events, I will tell you who has the most points, and who the winner is.’

The three friends nodded, shaking their limbs nervously and stretching their muscles.  

"In the first event, you will have to dunk as many basketballs as possible in one minute! Are you ready?" the agent paused (purely for dramatic effect). "Begin!" 

The three friends each sprinted to a separate basketball court. 

Tibo excelled at this challenge. Being an owl, it was exceptionally easy as Tibo flew through the sky to dunk at a lightning pace. Tonk was slightly slower than Tibo, though, and couldn’t jump particularly high. Despite this, Tonk had long tentacles that compensated for this limitation. It was a bit tiring, having to move the heavy tentacles so fast and high, but Tonk pushed on. On the other hand, Tay was not as successful. As a rabbit, Tay could jump high, but to jump high enough to dunk required absolute concentration and muscle buildup. Even after all that, sometimes Tay would leap into the air too high and miss the basket entirely! Tonk and Tibo chuckled at this ridiculous sight. Tay’s natural body really didn’t suit this task at all…

A shrill whistle split the air, causing them all to suddenly stop in their tracks.

“Time’s up!” said the Agent, looking down at a clipboard, “here’s the score so far: Tonk, 30, Tibo, 20, Tay, 10. Looks like you may have to step up your game, Tay.” 

Tay looked down, embarrassed. A wave of shame clouded the rabbit who had been so confident only moments ago. Tibo and Tonk looked at eachother, knowing how Tay must be feeling. Despite this, they were both secretly pleased that they were not in Tay’s position right now. 

“The next task is a gymnastic performance. You will have to show me your best 2 minute performance accompanying this song!" The Agent pulled a speaker out and pressed the "play" button, causing a generic classical music piece to resound across the oval. The three friends listened to the song once over, each choreographing a performance in their mind, creating what they thought would lead them to victory. 

“Now, let’s begin with you Tonk, since you have the most points so far!” yelled the Agent, preparing the song for the performance. "Begin!"

To be completely honest…Tonk failed miserably. 

With flailing tentacles and an oversized head, Tonk tried to perform a flip but instead just fell over, rolling on the floor. Tay and Tibo tried their best not to laugh, but even Tonk thought it was quite funny. When it came to Tibo’s performance, it was certainly much better. Tibo soared through the air before spiralling and spinning into large round wheels through the clouds. Despite this, Tibo started to get dizzy and couldn’t complete the whole performance without feeling sick. It was actually Tay who had the most exceptional performance. Tay’s lean and taut muscles electrified to the sound of the music, elegantly performing graceful flips and spins. Everyone watching was amazed by this effortless spectacle. At the end of the performance, the friends all looked up to the grandstands. 

“Well, I think the points for this round are fairly obvious,” said the Agent, “but here we are: Tonk, 10 points, Tibo, 20 points, and Tay, 30 points. Congratulations.”

Hearing this, the friends immediately started doing the calculations in their head; that meant that after the first and second rounds, the points stood at: Tonk, 30 points, Tibo, 50 points, and Tay, 40 points. Tay was glad to have caught up a little, but they all knew that the next task would truly be the deciding match. As they stood waiting for the next round, the friends all looked around at one another, but quickly turned away. This wasn’t the time to seek pity and comfort from friends. This was the time to pucker up: they needed one-hundred-percent concentration for their final task.

“Now for the swimming race!” said the agent. The sun continued to rise, but a cool breeze lay over the oval. The agent and the three friends headed down to the nearby lake that shone brilliantly in the morning sun. As they walked down the hill, the brisk air brushing off the water refreshed their senses.

“Here’s the deal,” said the Agent, “it’s a race, simple as that. First to reach the end of the pool wins. I’ll tell you the final points at the end of the event.”

The three friends nodded to the agent and lined up at the edge of the lake. They were all preoccupied with the daydreams of success, the fireworks of glory sparkling before their eyes. Their minds lay on nothing but the sole desire to win. 

“On your marks…” the agent suddenly began. “Get set…”  the three friends primed themselves into a diving position.

“Go!” 

They shot off the ground, their bodies piercing the water and disappearing underneath. The agent watched and waited to see who would be the first to emerge. To the agent’s surprise, it was Tibo the owl. Despite this, there was little momentum to Tibo, as it was mostly the exasperated flapping of wings that had necessitated a resurfacing. Tibo’s speed was sluggish and overall underwhelming. The agent was not particularly impressed. The next to emerge was Tay who, although taking longer to resurface, had already overtaken Tibo, laughing at Tibo’s chaotic display. Tay’s little rabbit legs maintained a relatively strong pace; the agent was surprised by the superiority of Tay’s technique, particularly for one so small. 

And then Tonk emerged.

For a moment, the agent had forgotten about the octopus, but Tonk’s tentacles had given a spectacular propulsion beneath the water. By the time Tonk finally resurfaced, half of the distance had already been covered. Tonk was too fast and too naturally suited to the event. It was an easy win for Tonk, with Tay finishing in second place much later. Tibo finished dead last, nowhere near the other two. 

“Congratulations on finishing the event, everyone! You all performed very well!” the agent said, grinning. “So, the points for the swimming race are as follows: Tonk, 30 points, Tay, 20 points, Tibo, 10 points.”

The friends all started doing the calculations again. “Wait a second,” they thought, “then that must mean…”

“You all received 60 points! It was a complete tie!” said the agent. 

The friends stood around in shock looking at one another in disbelief. None of them knew what this meant; who would get the position on the team?

“Do you know what that means?” said the agent rhetorically. “It means…” 

The three friends felt their hearts clench as they anxiously awaited the results.

“You all failed!” the agent said. 

The friends felt their hopes shatter completely. They looked at one another and could tell they were all in a state of disappointment and sadness. 

“Wait, what does that mean? You mean not a single one of us qualified?” said Tay, exasperated. 

“Yes, exactly, and let me tell you why. It’s because you all obviously don’t know how to function in a team. I could tell you were simply thinking about how you could get more points. You’re all friends, but you all laughed at each other when one of you failed. That’s not a good sign…and actually, it’s precisely because you’re friends that I can tell how you wouldn’t be able to function in a team: why did you all try-out individually instead of as a team? If you had tried out as a team, you would have been unstoppable.”

The friends looked at one another. Why hadn’t that occurred to any of them?

“Well, you always have next year. Maybe you should take my advice, I have high hopes for you three,” said the agent, leaving the friends standing there on the oval.

They looked around at one another, each thinking about where they failed and succeeded. Suddenly, a thought flashed through their minds as they all considered what the agent had said. Memories of their friendship played like a film in their head; they grew ashamed of their ruthless competitiveness. All in all, they had barely spoken to one another today. It was ironic, considering how important this day was for all of them. They looked around at each other once again, smiling. They knew the agent was right, they didn’t even need to discuss it. They grinned, knowing that next year, they would try again, and this time, they would succeed together.