On a sunny Saturday afternoon, dozens of students from all six Saint Mary’s dorms rallied together to compete in the first-ever and newly annual ‘Belleympics.’
From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Le Mans Hall Angels, Holy Cross Hall Stars, McCandless Hall Marigolds, Regina Hall Queens, Annunciata Hall Moons and Opus Hall Blossoms competed in various field games and enjoyed free Kona Ice in between rounds of competition.
Sophomore Bella Perry, the chair of the hall improvements committee within the Residence Hall Association (RHA), said she created ‘Belleympics’ in an effort to encourage greater community within and between the halls.
“We really wanted to incorporate the halls this year, so we were looking to do something that builds community within and then between the halls,” Perry said during the event. “The result of that was ‘Belleympics,’ and I think it's working really well, and it looks like a lot of fun.”
Perry said the RHA hopes to host ‘Belleympics’ annually and make it a new tradition for the College.
She explained the winners and overall finishing scores from ‘Belleympics’ will be taken into consideration for determining the Hall of the Year award, which will be making a comeback in the near future.
“Hall of the Year used to be more of a thing at Saint Mary’s, but now it isn’t, really,” Perry said. “The Residence Hall Association wants to work more to implement Hall of the Year, but instead of this [event] just being the deciding factor for this year, we’re kind of kicking off more hall involvement with this event [in general], and then we want to implement Hall of the Year more in years to come.”
Field games during ‘Belleympics’ included a three-legged race, sack race, wheelbarrow race and a sponge relay race, among others. The hall teams also competed in Simon Says and a dodgeball tournament.
Freshman Clara Venia, a Regina Hall resident, participated in ‘Belleympics’ because she thought it would be a good way to grow closer to her dorm.
“I thought it would be a good dorm bonding activity, and it sounded like fun,” Venia said. “I’m also very competitive, and so I wanted to win.”
After totaling the number of points that each hall had won, Perry named Holy Cross Hall as the event’s winner. Regina Hall took second place, and Opus Hall placed third. McCandless Hall placed fourth, and Annunciata Hall and Le Mans Hall tied for fifth place.
“Please remember that you guys are all Belles, you all are Smicks and you all love each other,” Perry reminded the crowd, emphasizing the event was meant to build community, not competition between one another.
After announcing finishing places, Perry told the participants and crowd of supporting students the Residence Hall Association plans to award the winners of ‘Belleympics’ with a plaque each year for the halls to hang up in their respective dormitories.
