Campus clash for tug-of-war

One of Homecoming’s many activities is the annual Tug-of-War. Student Organizations gather in teams of eight to pull opposing teams across a marked line. As teams climb the winner’s bracket they earn points towards their overall Homecoming score. 

“Tug-of-War is a competition of strength and stamina,” senior physical education major Jake Horman said.

This year’s tug-of-war took place in The Circle’s volleyball courts instead of the flooded fields of Memorial Park. This decision was made a few days prior, when the recent rainfall flooded Memorial Park leaving the grounds untillable. 

“It [the tracker and tiller] was gonna get stuck. We made the call earlier in the week. Not just the tug-area but the whole park was flooded,” director of campus activities David Nevins said.

Despite the change in venue there was still live music provided by the campus radio, WSUP 90.5fm, and a number of organizations came out to compete.

“I hope to see fierce competition and people that love good music!” senior psychology major and assistant manager of WSUP 90.5fm Michaela Marceau-Zielinski said. 

One pair of organizations, Alpha Gamma Rho with Sigma Alpha, came prepared with a strategy. 

“If we don’t get a good start then we’ll hold ‘em. It could be promising,” senior mechanical engineering major Casey Clark said.

“We’re gonna yell loud and work as a team,” senior agriculture and technology education major Jess Nehs said. 

Another organization with a winning strategy was Rountree Commons, who went 3-2 in the tug-of-war bracket. 

“Our strategy is to have fun and pull as hard as we can,” junior forensic investigation major Jordan Groove said. 

The crowds cheered on each team that pulled.  Some teams had unique chants and others wore matching colors to further show their team spirit.

“It was interesting to hear all of the chants and see that the spirit level was high,” senior business administration major and event coordinator Tyler Cota said.

“It’s a cool event and it’s a good team building exercise. It was fun to see the team’s strategy,” Nevins said.

The first-place team was Alpha Gamma Rho with Sigma Alpha, the second-place team was Gamma Phi Beta with Sigma Tau Gamma and the third-place team was Tau Kappa Epsilon with Kappa Alpha Sigma. 

This year’s homecoming tug-of-war event was a success.  Spectators and participants even commented on the lack of mud. However, CPR still plans to return the event to Memorial Park next year, so long as weather permits.