White Field will turn brown Sunday when Keenan Hall hosts the 12th annual Muddy Sunday mud volleyball event to end AnTostal Week.
Sophomore Greg Brainard, one of the event commissioners, said Muddy Sunday serves as a fun opportunity to relax with friends before finals week.
“It’s always right after the AnTostal Week, so it’s kind of part of AnTostal and it kind of closes out the week,” Brainard said. “It’s an awesome chance to unwind and have some fun with some friends before finals and before the end of the semester as everyone goes into summer, all, of course, while giving back to a good cause, and that’s kind of the main point behind the whole thing.”
The event costs $10 per person with all funds benefitting Habitat for Humanity, which Brainard said attracted him and his co-commissioner, sophomore Jack Higham, to organizing the event.
“I think a big reason me and Jack wanted to do it was because we saw that it was a good thing for Keenan to put on to give back to Habitat for Humanity,” he said. “I know that a big part of our promotional goal is letting people know that it is for charity and, you know, it is first of all about giving back and it is a fun event, so it’s kind of a two-fold advertisement.”
Higham said he and Brainard want to make sure the charity aspect of the event doesn’t get lost among the fun on Sunday.
“I think that while everyone’s having fun, they already paid their money so they might forget what the event is for, and that’s what we’re going to still emphasize, with the tent and a sign that says this is for this organization and we’re really happy you guys played and paid,” Higham said. “It’s a win-win. You pay money for a great cause and you also get to have a lot of fun while you’re doing it.”
Muddy Sunday is not only fun to participate in, Higham said, but also fun to watch with plenty of games to be played and more structure than in previous years.
“The event itself is just so much fun to participate [in], and it’s fun to watch, too,” he said. “We extended the time a little bit, the length of the event itself, and also, it’ll look more like an event. … In previous years, there was just a guy at a table, you’d go register and you’d go play volleyball, which is fine, but it was our event, we wanted to do it our way and make sure everyone could see that it is a Keenan Hall event and it’s for a good cause.”
Brainard said he and Higham came up with new ideas to improve the atmosphere of the event.
“Something new that Jack put in this year is that when you register your team you actually sign up with a song choice,” Brainard said. “So we’ll have music playing as everyone’s coming in and you kind of just have it be a fun atmosphere and maybe you’ll get to hear the song you requested while you’re playing, ideally. Just little things like that, just making it a fun atmosphere and a fun event, you know, is really what we tried to bring to it this year.”
Brainard suggested Muddy Sunday could be used to promote dorm community by RAs organizing and signing up a section team to participate.
“Muddy Sunday is a great opportunity to have a section event,” he said. “In that way we’re kind of envisioning it as really fostering Notre Dame community, and even within that, dorm community too. This is all just a chance for friends to come together, and I think it’s a great chance for an RA to bring their section out and as a bonding event for the section. … Why not bring your section out here and give back?”
