It's the most wonderful time of the year... and I'm not talking about Christmas.
It's RUMPUS week here at Darlington!
What is RUMPUS, you might ask? It's basically a weekend-long competition between day and boarding students and faculty in Darlington's six campus Houses. And it's more fun than you could ever imagine. But more than that, it is the best representation of "community" that you might ever experience.
Find out more about the events of RUMPUS weekend below and make plans to join us. Whether you are a participant or a spectator, I promise you will have a blast!
Fear Factor
Friday, 3:30 p.m., Chapel Lawn
This event has had various names throughout RUMPUS history but the challenge remains the same: to eat, and eat fast! Teams consisting of several students and one faculty member per House must finish the awesomely gross food combinations put before them if they want to come out victorious in the first event of the weekend. Even Head of School Brent Bell has taken one for the team, downing a lovely mixture of Coca-Cola, ketchup, Tabasco sauce and other ingredients while competing on behalf of Cooper House in 2015.
Dodgeball
Friday, 9 p.m., Van Es Arena
Friday night is a busy one and we hope you'll join us for ALL of it! First, the varsity basketball teams will play Bowdon, beginning with the Lady Tigers at 6 p.m. After the boys' game, usually around 9 p.m., brother-sister Houses will square off in a high-energy dodgeball tournament. Will the "dream team" (Moser and Regester houses) repeat last year's performance? Find out Friday night in the Van Es Arena!
RUMPUS Relay
Saturday, 8:30 a.m., The Cove
The Relay is one of my favorite events because it involves so many students from each House. It begins in The Cove, where a competitor from each team must run to the first station and complete a challenge. Students proceed through a variety of stations all over Darlington's #500acresoffun, and each challenge must be completed before they can tag their team's runner to head to the next. In the meantime, The Cove is full of students illustrating their House pride through cheers and music. I hope everyone has been studying the School Motto or you won't make it past my station on Saturday!
Trivia
Saturday, 11 a.m., Old Gym
Our resident triviamaster, more commonly known as Mr. Inman, always has something up his sleeve. Last year, he breathed new life into this event when he changed up the format. Modeled after Family Feud, House teams had to guess the answers to his questions based on surveys of members of the Darlington Community. We can't wait to see what Mr. Inman has in store for us this year.
The Gauntlet
Saturday, 3 p.m., Johnson Field House
The Gauntlet is exactly what it sounds like -- a very long obstacle course! House teams, comprised of several students and one faculty member each, depart from the Huffman Center to run the course, which features various obstacles along the way that the entire team must complete before moving on to the next. There are physical and mental challenges, and your endurance is most certainly put to the test. One of my favorite things about this event is seeing members of the House run alongside their Gauntlet team, cheering them on, throughout the entirety of the race. Sometimes you even hear a spontaneous singing of the Alma Mater.
Lip Sync
Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Van Es Arena
Easily the most highly anticipated and best-attended RUMPUS event each year, Lip Sync kicks off with a faculty routine followed by two performances per House. But this is not your typical lip sync competition; there's choreography, costumes and sometimes even props. Over the years, we've seen Michael Jackson's "Thriller," will.i.am's "Bang Bang" and everything in between. Check out this video montage from last year's competition and you'll see why the Van Es Arena is standing room only during Lip Sync.
Closing Ceremony
Saturday, 9 p.m. or right after Lip Sync, Van Es Arena
The final event of the weekend, the Closing Ceremony is always bittersweet. While it marks the culmination of two days' worth of competition, it also means that another RUMPUS has come and gone. At the ceremony, we find out who gets bragging rights for the next 12 months and, as is tradition, the head of house and prefects of the winning House get to sign the RUMPUS banner and display it in their dorm until the following year. The best part, to me, is seeing the students' excitement and support of one another, regardless of which House they belong to. For the last two years, the banner has lived in Summerbell House. Will they make it a three-peat or will it have a new home come Saturday night?!
Click here to see a video of our students presenting their House themes during yesterday's assembly and follow all the RUMPUS fun (or contribute your own photos and videos) using #RUMPUS2017 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
