If you are looking for an alternative to crowded dorm parties this weekend, want to show off your athletic skills or simply want to help out a good cause, cancel your plans for Saturday night.
From 6 p.m. on Saturday to 2 a.m. on Sunday, RecSports is sponsoring Late Night Olympics, where teams comprised of members of brother-sister halls will compete in 11 different sports to raise money for St. Joseph County Special Olympics, said John Beven, who supervised the planning of Late Night Olympics this year.
The sports offered include innertube water polo, kayaking, bags (also known as corn hole), broomball, volleyball, target golf, an obstacle course and dodge ball, Beven said.
There will also be three-on-three basketball, racquetball and table tennis, which will be divided into men's and women's divisions, he said.
The sports will be played on different locations across campus, from the field house to the aquatic center to the Joyce Center, Beven said.
Each team is comprised of brother-sister halls from Notre Dame, however this is the first year in few years that Saint Mary's hasn't been a part of Late Night Olympics, he said.
"This year, they couldn't commit to it because they had so many things going on," Beven said.
While Beven said Late Night Olympics is a fun event that helps students meet people in their dorms and from other dorms, "the major purpose is to benefit St. Joseph County's Special Olympics."
A basketball game in which rectors and members of the athletic department will take on a team from the St. Joseph's County Special Olympics at 9 p.m., Beven said.
Fr. Pete McCormick, rector of Keough Hall, who played basketball in high school and has played for fun ever since, will be playing in the game because he wanted to help out a good cause.
"I think Late Night Olympics is a great opportunity here on campus for students to come together. I just wanted to be of help," McCormick said.
Alicia Danto, a freshman from Howard Hall who is going to be on her hall's volleyball team, added: "I'm excited to see all the different events and ... join in on some of them. I'm also ready to cheer on the other girls from Howard."
Beven said this kind of support is very much encouraged because the more spectators each team has, the more points they get.
"One of the ways to score points for your team is to have people from your hall come to Late Night. Even if you're not participating in a sport, if you show up, you guys get a point," Beven said. "Say 100 people come from your hall, you guys get 100 points."
Badin Hall freshman Samantha Smith plans to play volleyball for her team on Saturday.
"It was something different to do on the weekend [and] it will be a nice way of getting to know the other girls in my dorm," she said.
The winners of each sport will receive medals, which are provided by the Alumni Association, Beven said.
