Urvashi Lalwani |Staff Writer

 Whitworth’s sports teams were highlighted at Pirate Mania on Tuesday, November 16th. 

The event was organized by ASWU to celebrate all of the fall and winter sport athletes, recognizing the accomplishments they have achieved representing the Pirates over the semester. 

The teams represented were men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s swim, men’s swim, women’s cross country, men’s cross country, football and volleyball. 

Athletes from each team shared their experience from this season as the audience congratulated them exuberantly and the cheer team performed. Those in attendance sang along to the music that was playing, shaking free Pirate pom-poms they received at the door. 

“The Helm (the school spirit committee) was largely responsible for the brainstorming of the event and many of the folks in ASWU were kind enough to help me execute it. We also had help from the cheer team – as they taught some crowd cheers – and Go Bucs Gameday,” ASWU School Spirit Coordinator Georgia Goff said. 

Students received raffle tickets at the door, and winners were chosen throughout the night. The prizes, which were not revealed until the winners were chosen, included a Starbucks hot chocolate set with mugs and a blanket, a bean bag chair, a karaoke machine and a mini-refrigerator. 

A crowd favorite was Bessie, a t-shirt cannon fired by Warren Hall Senator Logan Spencer.

The athletes got the chance to interact with the other students as they played games such as cup stack and engaged in an intense Lip Sync Battle where seniors Garrett Paxton and Jonathan Zelaya danced their hearts out.

Another hit game was Shake it Off, where a tissue box full of ping-pong balls was tied to the participants’ waists and they had to shake the boxes with their bodies until all the balls fell out. Other games included Don’t Let the Balloon Touch the Floor and Look Ma! No Hands!

“Not having school spirit events for a few years due to COVID affected people a lot more than I think we acknowledge,” Goff said. “ It was nice to provide students with that sense of normalcy and give them yet another reason to be proud to be Pirates.” 

Roughly 350 students attended Pirate Mania this year, packing the fieldhouse.

The next Pirate Mania will be held next semester to celebrate the spring athletic teams. Stay tuned!