SAAC Hosts Third Annual Tartan Olympics

A group of students from Donner House won the third annual Tartan Olympics on Saturday, January 16, claiming a $500 first-place prize for their organization. The campus-wide event is open to all students and offers contests in mental, physical and skill-related games.

During the 2008-09 academic year, the Carnegie Mellon Student-Athlete Advisory Council created the Tartan Olympics in an effort to integrate all members of the campus community. On Saturday, more than 150 students showed up to display a multitude of talents in a wide range of events.

“For me, the Tartan Olympics is a fantastic representation of the ability of the athletics department and its student athletes to enrich the CMU community experience,” said SAAC co-chair Ian Epperson. “I thought it was a great event, and would like to thank all those that worked to make the event happen and our participants."

Eight different events were offered on Saturday –Trivia, Knock-Out, Checkers, Scientific Discovery, Eating Contest, Karaoke and Dodgeball. A team relay included a sack race, egg walk, word search, Rubik’s Cube, push-ups and putting. On Friday night, participants came together for a VIP reception sponsored by Qdoba during the women’s basketball game against Brandeis and competed in a three-point contest during halftime of the men’s game that evening.

“The Tartan Olympics is an important event for CMU because it really does bridge the gap between athletes and other students,” said SAAC co-chair Nicole Vaccarella. “The Olympics was very successful, and it was great to see major groups of students come together, just to compete and have a great time.”

On Sunday, the Bomb Squad was honored for its first-place finish during halftime of the women’s basketball game against NYU. Donations from Qdoba, Dunkin’ Donuts, W.G. Grinders and the Carnegie Mellon University Bookstore also provided the opportunity to award prizes for the second through fifth-place teams.

Tartan Olympics Winner - Donner House
Dodgeball	Checkers