The weather is getting chillier, but that doesn’t mean anything to HU students when Olympiad makes an appearance on the third weekend of October. The event turned 25 years old this year, and students celebrated by uniting in another attempt to get first place for their respective team — and to get a team picture in the HUB that proves it.

Opening ceremony on Thursday made it possible for teams to introduce themselves “formally” to everyone on campus. Teams brought props and costumes (such as cow costumes, cowboy costumes, Christmas sweaters, planets, and people literally painted in gold) to make their presence known throughout the weekend.

Thursday night and Friday afternoon featured some sporting events like volleyball, basketball, ping-pong and even musical chairs. Teams cheered for their teammates. The field house was full of people laughing and grunting, some of them mesmerized by other people’s talents.

Friday night made room for aquatic sports at the YMCA. The lineup of events included water polo, inner tube tug of war, aquatic spoons and synchronized swimming, during all of which students were more vocal than ever. Synchronized swimming, always a student favorite event, was once again a hit, ending with the gold team getting the W.

Saturday’s events included video games and card games in the lower HUB. Though a small space, a lot of team spirit was cramped into that room, and the team spirit was visible all morning. That night, the stage of Zurcher Auditorium hosted events like acapella, family feud, don’t forget the lyrics and airband. Teams, though competitive as always, got to enjoy another team’s performances and clapped and even cheered for other teams that definitely deserved it.

Sunday, the field house was filled with students participating in ultimate frisbee, cornhole and other events, but at night the HUB was bustling with activity as the whole student body showed up to watch Fear Factor. Though some people were whispering to each other words like ‘gross,’ ‘I would never do that,’ and ‘he’s crazy,’ all eyes were still glued to the participants as they tried to find a gummy worm out of a bowl full of live worms. At the end of the night, the winner was announced: the “moo”-roon team. The cows got the win and their picture taken. It will be coming to the wall in the HUB in a few days.

Lauren Frischman, coordinator of student activities on campus and Hardy Hall resident director, says that the HU wouldn’t be the same without Olympiad.

“Just so much spirit, whether that’s team spirit or just overall university spirit,” said Frischman. “It’s just cool to see all the teams coming together, participate in the events, dress up and cheer and just go crazy and be loud, and just see that they care so deeply about this.”

SAB starts preparing for Olympiad two months before it happens, but the real intense work starts one month prior.

In the end, all that hard work gives students the opportunity to be themselves and display some of their talents to others.

“It is the event of the year — you don’t want to miss it,” said Frischman. “You don’t want to miss the opportunity to put yourself out there and go crazy and just dress up and cheer and do all of our events.”