Household Olympics faced scheduling, weather challenges

Illuminata Pace at Household Olympics
Illuminata Pace at Household Olympics
Photo by Melissa Longua
The girls on the Illuminata Pace team flex their muscles, intimidating the other teams at the Household Olympics on Saturday.

BY SAMANTHA BAILEY-LOOMIS

On Saturday, Franciscan University hosted their annual Household Olympics in the Finnegan Fieldhouse. Students of all grade levels participated in the games through each household.

The students banded together representing each men’s and women’s household by dressing in household colors, participating in team bonding, and most notably, competing in games against other households.

The games included human-sized hamster ball races, obstacle courses, leg-tie games, Nerf gun shooting, Frisbee throwing contests and more. Each team competed for points to earn the title of Household Olympic Champions, which will be announced in the weeks to come.

This year, there were two concerns leading up to the Household Olympics: the number of students participating in the games and the weather accommodations.

Due to the nature of the weather, students had to stay indoors rather than compete outside like they have traditionally done in previous years. This caused issues with space, the types of competitions available, and the experience for the freshmen.

Another cause for concern was the amount of students participating in the games. The morning of the games, there was a scheduled track meet which disabled some students from participating in the games.

Andrea Lopez, a senior and member of Sacrifice of Love, details that, “A firm number of her household [was] going to participate in the games,” and also that they had, “at least three sisters that are not able to attend the games,” because of the music ministry retreat.

Lopez went on to explain that “trying to balance schoolwork as well as household life is also a struggle.”

Father Gregory, TOR, the leader of household life, commented that despite the alleged rumors of decreased participation, “the most admirable part about the Household Olympics as a whole is two-fold: the way it is a means for new students to get involved with households and the way households have fun competing with and working together in the events.”

The Household Olympics were filled with playful competition, memorable moments, and team building experiences which are invaluable and coin the Household Olympics a defining event that Franciscan University students look forward to every year.