Are you a washed-up high school athlete looking to relive your glory days? Are you a huge fan of informal team competition? Were you always picked last in gym class and want revenge? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the first annual Beacon Cup is calling your name.
A creation of the SAEC, the Cup will split participating students up according to college (CLA, CM, etc), and pit them in a wide range of events, from the athletic (kickball, dodgeball, badminton), to the intellectual (trivia night, checkers), to the random (bobbing for apples, root beer flip cup, speed sudoku). The college whose participants win the most events will receive a pretty badass trophy and bragging rights in what the SAEC hopes will become an annual UMass tradition.
SAEC’s Zach McCoubry is spearheading the event. When asked about what inspired the Cup, he said, “SAEC’s goal has always been to bring as many events as possible to as many students as possible. A series of games in which students compete side by side is meant to boost school spirit, bring tradition and create memories for our students. It doesn’t hurt that many of the events we’re planning are fairly inexpensive to plan.”
When asked about how the Cup’s been received by UMB’s notoriously uninvolved student body, McCoubry was pleased. He said, “The Beacon Cup has been received quite strongly. It’s 30 inches of Beacon glory that would make any dean be happy to hold. As for the whole concept and week, we’re still working to get people excited, but sign-ups are going well and we’re hoping for a great turnout.”
McCoubry has a good reason to be optimistic. Everyone’s a sucker for competition. Students will be drawn to the Cup because they can test their skills against the UMass population. There is such diversity amongst the events that everyone has a chance to be a star.
When asked about what events are closest to his heart, McCoubry said, “I’m looking forward to our Quidditch, because that sounds like a lot of fun. Our last day, Friday at 12 p.m., we have a series of events on the Campus Center front circle lawn including tie dye, a rap battle, break-dancing competition and horseshoes to wrap up the week.” With that variety, everyone can make an impact and help their college compete for the Cup.
The Cup wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of a number of offices and departments on campus. McCoubry said, “We’ve attempted to collaborate with many other offices on campus but the Chancellor’s office and Intramural Sports have been the most helpful.” He added, “We’ve attempted to get a number of offices all over campus involved…we’re hoping they get involved through coming out to the events and planning for next years as well.”
The SAEC is keeping no secrets about their goal for the event. McCoubry said, “The whole idea behind this event is to create a tradition, with this year being an experiment in how we can set up a
system that blasts students all day for a week to get involved. It’s up to members of SAEC and other UMass community members to see if it continues for years to come.”
If you want to have a ridiculous amount of fun and participate in what could be the first year of a great Beacon tradition, make sure to head out to some of the events this week. If you want to do nothing and just be lame, you can go creep around in the Science Center basement.
For more info, and a complete schedule of events, including free food offerings, go to
http://files.campus.edublogs.org/blogs.umb.edu/dist/a/390/files/2012/04/Beacon-Cup-Events-2byp7in.pdf