BRISTOL, R.I. – To kick off the beginning of the second semester, the second annual Roger Williams University Athletic Olympics was held on Sunday, January 29, in support of team unity across all the men's and women's sports at RWU.
"The idea behind the Athletic Olympics is to bring all of our teams together for some friendly competition in an evening that is fun and entertaining for all," said Amanda Callahan, Head Sailing Coach and coordinator of the Athletic Olympics. "This year, SAAC elected to modify the lineup of events to make the program a little shorter, but just as exciting."
From the Baseball team to the Wrestling team, student-athletes participated in six events voted on by SAAC members. These events included the Belly Flop, Dizzy Bat, Junk in the Trunk, Egg Walk, Wardrobe Malfunction, and the Dance Off. All events took place in the gym outside of the Belly Flop competition, which was conveniently held in the pool. One member of each team had to participate in all the events, as the rest of their teammates cheered them on.
The night of fun began with the Belly Flop competition. Every student-athlete showed off their belly-flopping skills, throwing themselves off the one-meter diving board in the pool. Five judges associated with RWU Athletics rated everyone's individual performance on a scale of 1-5.
From there, the student-athletes migrated to the main gym where the Dizzy Bat competition soon took place. Individuals had to place their head on a bat and spin around it ten times. Following this activity, each person had to run, pick up a basketball, and make one foul shot. Some completed the task successfully, while others made friends with the floor as they tried to fight through their dizziness.
Following the Dizzy Bat competition, student athletes got to shake their money maker in Junk in the Trunk contest. Each contestant strapped on a box to their backs that contained two ping pong balls. The goal was to shake the pong balls out from the box as fast as possible.
The next competition, the Egg Walk, challenged the athlete's mental focus while trying to walk as fast as possible. Having to walk, or in some cases, run around the perimeter of the basketball court, the male and female athletes tried to balance a hard-boiled egg on a spoon, all the while trying to cross the finish line first. Some chose to push others out of the way, while others had a hard time keeping their egg on the spoon resulting in a cracked egg and a disqualification.
"The egg walk had most of the crowd on their feet," Callahan commented. "In the second heat, Trevor Manzi from the Baseball team appeared to have it locked up on the final straight away, but Tyler Sharby from the Men's Soccer team made a quick dash at the end to snatch first place.
The last two events, Wardrobe Malfunction and the Dance Off, proved just how creative the student athletes could be. In the Wardrobe Malfunction, every individual had to put on one item from every sport as they ran the length of the gym in the form of a suicide. When completely dressed and at the end of the court, the athletes had to sprint back to the other side of the gym while bouncing a basketball in order to make one basket. Those who completed this task first won the game. From wrestling singlets to lacrosse gloves, every person had their unique style in placing each item on their body which made for an interesting, yet hilarious competition.
Following the Wardrobe Malfunction, the Dance Off tested the athlete's ability to "break it down" on the basketball court. As up-beat songs played from over head, each individual danced until the judges decided they were eliminated. It came down to style and dance moves, as some contestants showed off their body with interesting clothing choices, while others were simply talented dancers.
Points were totaled from the event and every sports team was ranked 1-20. The Women's Volleyball team emerged victorious, tying for first in the Belly Flop competition and racking up points in almost every event to earn them a first place finish.
"We chose the perfect competitors to represent our team," stated Emily Werth, a freshman on the Volleyball team and first-time attendee at the SAAC Olympics. "It clearly worked out for us in the end!"
In a second-place tie, Men's Soccer and Men's Swimming and Diving each totaled 73 points. Softball managed to grab the third place finish with 67 points.
A big thank you goes out to all the teams for representing and participating. A special thanks goes out to the five judges: Nick Williams, Karen Gallivan, Colin Merrick, Kelly Thompson, and Kerry Hausdorf!
