Mavericks, students and faculty alike, gathered at Foster Field House this Thursday, Aug. 29, evening for a game of capture the flag.
To encourage turnout, Campus Recreation had pizza at the ready as a pre-game snack. This year is Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) first capture the flag game in hopes to show students the variety of Rec Center activities.
“With the increase to the freshman student population, we wanted to try and program some additional events outside of the typical […] indoor areas of the campus Rec Department,” said Director of Campus Recreation Michael Hughes.
Leaders synchronized wrist-watches as students anticipated the start of the game. At the midline of the two territories, students laughed and taunted one another, threatening to run into enemy domain. A group of grinning boys laid on the mid-line with only a finger over it, safe until they crossed completely.
The signal sounded and players sprinted across the mid-line, competition at their heels. Participants hid behind bushes and trees waiting for the right moment to advance. One pair of opposing players accidentally tackled each other to the ground while trying to tag each other out. The comradery between students was palpable.
Minutes later, shouts rose as a student appeared holding the opposing team’s flag. He dove onto the sidewalk to cross the flag over the midline. In the midst of the chaos, an enthusiastic student runs in with a banana costume.
“It’s been fun. Everyone’s just been a good sport […] someone took a dive on the concrete, I think they scraped up their leg pretty bad, but everything [is] going pretty good,” said costume-clad student Oliver Plank, a freshman electrical and computer engineering major here at CMU.
Plank thanks his fashion sense for his successful game play.
“I wouldn’t have gone for [the flag] at all if I didn’t wear the banana,” said Plank.
Thankfully, the student who became acquainted with the sidewalk in front of Wubben Hall assures his well being and enjoyment of the game.
“It was a great community [. . .] [I’m] very tired. Doing good,” said unharmed freshman kinesiology major Anthony Daley.
This event served as a bookend to the Freshman Rec Week hosted by the Hamilton Rec Center on campus at CMU.
“Although we are catering primarily to the freshman class, we want any and all students, staff and faculty to participate,” said Hughes.
It will certainly be interesting to see if the success of the 2024 game lends itself to a sequel. Whether or not the event lives on, students had the chance to destress while settling into the hectic new school year with an evening of child-like fun. Many made new friends, and maybe even some friendly rivals, as the game wrapped up.