A 100-person game of hide and seek called the “Tournament of Participants” will take place Wednesday, March 20 from 11 a.m. until the last hiding student is found.
Vice President for Student Life Dr. Celestino Limas and members of the so—called Mystery and Secrecy Committee planned the tournament, the first of its kind—to take place in the middle of a weekday.
“I wanted something new and unique for a campus event that could not be negatively impacted by the weather,” Limas wrote in an email.
Limas announced the tournament in a series of cryptic posts on the E-town Jays app, first simply announcing that a tournament was happening and encouraging students to guess what it would be.
“There were some creative theories on what the competition would be, which made for some great fun,” Limas said.
Ideas posted on the E-town Jays app included a carrot cake eating contest and a tournament similar to those in the popular “The Hunger Games” novels. Limas announced the actual hide and seek game Thursday, Feb. 21.
Up to 100 clubs and organizations can each select one member to participate. Every participant receives a free shirt that must be worn during the game, but only one club receives the grand prize: the Gaga ball pit outside the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being will be named after the winning student’s club.
With a few exceptions, students can hide anywhere in the Baugher Student Center (BSC) and Thompson Gymnasium. The event is slated to last an hour, but the team of 15 seekers will search until the last hider is found.
“Once we revealed [the tournament] was hide and seek I think many minds went to all the places you could hide for this event in the BSC and Thompson,” Limas said.
One of the clubs junior Hannah Swope is in has a member participating. “If it was me playing, I’d probably go to a really obvious place hoping people wouldn’t look there,” she said. “Maybe behind a plant.”
The initial plan was to broadcast live information about hiders’ locations and whether they were found. Students watching in the KAV would then be able to find out who was eliminated in real time. Limas said this may not work, but that ITS has been “fantastic” about looking into other options to make the event interactive for students who watch.
“I think it’ll definitely be a really fun time,” junior Rachel Rhoads said. “It’ll be interesting to hear about once it’s done.”
According to Limas, the Mystery and Secrecy Committee already has plans for other events like this one.
The rules and other information about the tournament can be found on the College’s website. Clubs interested in participating can send their student representative to sign up in BSC 210 any time before Tuesday, March 19, but only the first 100 clubs to sign up will participate.
“I have a friend who’s doing it, and she’s really excited,” junior Anthony Gambino said. “She keeps bragging about how no one is going to find her.”
The results of the “Tournament of Participants” will be published in the next issue of The Etownian.
For more information on the 2019 “Tournament of Participants,” please visit https://www.etown.edu/campus-life/hide-and-seek.aspx.
