OSA Premiere Event 09.30.22 | The Dorm Trials
The upper quad shone brightly as the dorms converged on the field, the flames from the tiki torches flickering in the wind. The Student Body Council (SBC) spent weeks in preparation for this night, the first Premiere Event of the school year: the Dorm Trials.
In the Survivor-esque atmosphere provided by the SBC, the nine dorms contended for the ultimate prize: a 55-inch flat-screen television for their dorm. Through a series of minigames, members of each dorm competed against each other for the points available, and, at the end of the night, the girls’ dorm and guys’ dorm with the most points participated in a sudden-death competition to determine the true winner of the Dorm Trials.
All in all, sixteen minigames were played throughout the night. That’s a lot! So, here’s the highlight reel:
At the beginning, each dorm selected an ambassador to choose a totem for their dorm; this would serve as their mascot and provide them with hope and inspiration as the games continued. Or as much hope and inspiration as you can get from a tiny sombrero or a rubber chicken.
Push Ball brought the first real intensity of the night; the guys and girls took turns fighting to push the big ball across their dorm’s lines. In fact, the dorms’ chosen warriors were so evenly matched that each girls’ round resulted in several ball resets due to stalemate before Hilsen took the lead. There was lots of shoving. And lots of grass stains.
Perhaps one of the most complicated games of the night was Ricochet Catch: three members of each dorm were handed a tennis ball, a frisbee, and a bucket. One individual tossed the tennis ball to the frisbee-holder, who hit the ball with the frisbee to the bucket-holder, who attempted to catch the ball in their bucket. It’s harder than it seems.
Carry Across might have been the most unique game: three of the dorm’s smallest members stood in the center of the circle, and one mighty champion ran from the dorm’s lines to their teammates and carried them one by one back to the rest of their dorm. A true test of power, this task proved arduous, but each champion represented their dorm well.
Soon it was time for Bubble Tackle, one of the most competitive games of the night. Split into a girls’ round and a guys’ round, one member of each dorm suited up in a bubble suit, which is essentially an inflatable ball with a person-sized hole in the middle. The goal was simple: be the last one standing. Using their newfound personal bubble, the participant tried to knock their opponents down by ramming into them as hard as they could. The contestant from Leland took this opportunity to pull his dorm ahead, absolutely wrecking the competition. More shoving. More grass stains.
Finally, the totems came into play. Without knowing, each dorm had selected an item at the beginning that would prove either helpful or harmful in the Totem Toss. A member from each dorm brought their totem to the center of the circle and threw it as hard as they could, and the farthest throw won. The representative from Judson went first and blew the competition away by chucking what looked like a rubber chicken farther than anyone else could possibly hope to. The tiny sombrero didn’t stand a chance.
The final game before the finale was Retrieve the Noodle. Again split into a girls’ round and a guys’ round, two champions from each dorm raced to the middle to retrieve as many pool noodles as they could to bring back to their awaiting dorm. After much wrestling and many torn noodles, the girls’ second round ended with noodles still in play; the girls were too evenly matched to make any ground. However, Gould’s noodle stockpile from earlier in the round proved helpful, putting them in the top spot for the girls.
As if the night could get any more intense, the finale arrived. Gould and Leland, the two leading dorms for the guys and the girls, selected their three champions, who would participate in a limbo competition. Gould took the first round as everyone on the quad gathered in, and Leland took the second as the intensity ramped up and the noise levels became deafening. Finally, after a seemingly endless round between the last two contestants, with the limbo height at roughly three feet off the ground, Leland took their television home.
Gould got some Gatorade and a box of cosmic brownies. You can’t watch a movie on it, but it’s hard to say no to a cosmic brownie.
All in all, SBC put on a spectacular event that brought the dorms together in a truly special and unified way. The electric atmosphere, unique games, and never-ending wit and wisdom from the refs and MCs created the perfect environment for intense competition and camaraderie. This Premiere Event will be hard to beat and hard to forget.