Daily pie-eating contests, a tremendously competitive game of “”Water Twister”” and the epic battle of Mud-Tug-O-War makes up just another week at the University of Arizona – well, not quite.
It is Homecoming here at UA ð- a week dedicated to celebrating the history and traditions of our dear ol’ Blue and Red. The week has been full of high-energy, high-spirit events all organized by the Bobcats Senior Honorary along with the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.
ASUA Executive Vice-President, Jessica Anderson, said that the planning and organization of the spirit-filled week has been a work in progress since last semester.
“”We got started organizing Homecoming Week in about March or April,”” said Anderson. “”It takes a lot of planning, and a lot of coordination to pull this off, but these week-long events are so important for building enthusiasm around Homecoming.””
Club Olympics is part of the high-energy week, bringing together UA student clubs in various tests of strength and courage, said ASUA officials.
“”ASUA sent a letter to all the various clubs here on campus, and we got 22 clubs out here to compete,”” Anderson said. “”We have everything from the Aerospace Booster Club, to Alpha Delta Pi, to Chain Gang, and they all are out here with great enthusiasm.””
Club Olympics is comprised of five events, all taking place on a certain day of the week. Monday kicked off with a relay race, Tuesday tested the flexibility of participants with a game of “”Water Twister,”” Wednesday entailed the devouring of pie and watermelon in the annual eating competition and Thursday was the great tradition of Mud-Tug-O-War.
ASUA, along with the Bobcats, judge the participating clubs on UA trivia, enthusiasm, attendance to the events and how they place at each competition.
The club that comes out on top not only gets the glory of being Club Olympics Champion, but also receives additional club funding from ASUA.
First prize-winners are awarded with $1,000 worth of club funding, second place receives $500 and third place receives $250.
The tradition of spirit events prior to the “”big game”” of Homecoming has existed for many years, said Bobcats officials.
“”Bobcats Senior Honorary has been organizing week-long Homecoming events, along with the royal court for a long time,”” said President of Bobcats Daniel Butler. “”It is a tradition that has evolved over 30 years and it is so important to build up enthusiasm before Homecoming.””
It is important that the UA traditions to stay alive because of their importance in welcoming the newest members of the Wildcat family, said member of the Homecoming court and senior Daria Artiola.
“”Being a sociology major, I study traditions and rituals and the role they play in integrating the newest members into a collective grouping,”” Artiola said. “”When freshmen see the senior honorary with a lot of enthusiasm, they will start to build off their dedication to the U of A.””
Screaming cheerleaders, a potential Homecoming queen with whipped cream all over her face and a swarm of onlookers waiting to catch the next collision of campus spirit and tradition all set the stage for the biggest event of the week – the football game.
Charles Wollin, Club Olympics coordinator and member of Bobcats, said that Homecoming week is the opportunity for all of campus to get in the “”Homecoming game mode.””
“”All the spirit starts here. The students take all of their enthusiasm to the football field – and hopefully we can take care of business there.””
