Gettin' dirty at CAFNR Week mud volleyball
Story and photos by Kyla Berendzen, posted Oct. 7. 2008
Mud, competition and fun sloshed beyond the sidelines at CAFNR Week’s mud volleyball tournament, which began at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 at Bradford Research Center.
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A crowd watches as one participant dives for the ball at Mud Volleyball. This was the first year the event was held at Bradford Research Center. |
Participating teams represented over a dozen different clubs in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, such as Block and Bridle, the Agricultural Education Society, Collegiate Farm Bureau and the Wildlife Society. Fortunately, rivalries didn’t run very deep, since some teams had to borrow players as the night went on.
“It’s really about the social atmosphere,” said mud-covered Bailey Yotter, a freshman majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife/Foresty and playing for the Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Society. “We’re getting to know each other - and getting muddy!”
Participants certainly got muddy, as did some viewers. The volleyball “court” was a grassy plot filled with water more than a foot deep in places.
“It was almost like we were playing in a swamp, as wet as it was in there,” said Charlie Robinson, a junior majoring in Animal Sciences/Pre-Vet.
However, even though the court was more water than mud, leaking water created mud pits around the edges that were expanded considerably by some CAFNR students who wrestled in them. Those who stood too close to the mud pits were easily identified by the end of the night. The swampy court provided an additional source of fun in the form of large bullfrogs, which evoked a few shouts when dropped on the necks of unsuspecting CAFNR students.
While many enjoyed what Doug Suntrup, a junior majoring in Animal Sciences, called “the wettest, muddiest time of our lives,” attending mud volleyball didn’t have to involve getting dirty and smelly. The Agricultural Economics Club sponsored a barbeque that went on during the mud volleyball games. Many CAFNR students stayed back from the mud and shouting to enjoy good food, country music, a pretty sunset and the company of fellow CAFNR students.
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Mud volleyball participants get into the game while getting dirty. |
Whether getting dirty in the mud and chaos or just enjoying the scene, students thought mud volleyball was a sure success.
“Messing around in the mud was a great way to get to know new people,” Yotter said. “There’s nothing better than shoving mud in someone’s face to introduce yourself. I can’t wait to do it all again next year!”
