The first Saturday of the year, residential students set off to face a tremendous challenge: Dorm Olympics! Annually, the boarding community celebrates the students’ return to campus with a grueling competition of a potpourri of events, from the classic sack race to dizzy bat to a water balloon slingshot finale. Ultimately, the boys’ 11th and 12th-grade dorm, Towner, came in first place! The freshman boys’ dorm and the freshman girls’ dorm came in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. Typically, balloon catches determine the winner of the night. Every dorm calls on nearly 40 members to come forward and catch a water balloon slingshotted by one of the dorm’s residential proctors. This challenge is incredibly technical. The balloons are as small as a baseball and can’t be caught in students’ hands without breaking. As a result, many roommates go out of their way to buy the biggest shirts possible in an attempt to catch the balloon. This time, Towner and Allen Dorm both caught one. Overall, Towner Dorm secured the first-place victory, having more points in the other Olympic events. Allen House’s distraught was parallel to the experiences of the Junior and Senior girls’ dorm, Greggs. For the girls, the night provided an extensive challenge, as Greggs miscounted their laps for several races and relays. Although the dorm was disqualified from multiple events, the girls squeaked out enough points, thwarting a last-place ranking. Although it’s competitive, the Dorm Olympics’ main purpose is to strengthen the boarding community. Dorms fully bond together in their struggle for victory. Shouting their friends’ names and supporting their teammates, Dorm Olympics stands out as a unifying experience for residential students. An evening of rapid-fire sprinting and stumbling nosedives, it truly was a night to remember.