Tomorrow the 45th annual Chaos Day is set to once again spark one of the fiercest dorm-based sport competitions in the history of Calvin College.
The stakes are high this year, with defending champion Schultze-Eldersveld (SE) set to not only defend their throne, but secure a fifth victory for resident director (RD) Emily Colledge. A first place win would make Colledge the RD with the most wins in a single dorm.
Residence Life Dean John Witte also recognizes the potential for an SE victory, stating, “Training or no training, Schultze-Eldersveld is very motivated because they would love to get the next victory. The current RD Emily Colledge has won it four times so she’d love that fifth time.”
However, last year runner-up Rooks-VanDellen (RVD) is eager to thwart SE’s attempt for conquest, while Kalsbeek-Huizenga-vanReken resident director Laura Van Gelder has expressed her confidence in claiming the title, given that 2013 is the year of jubilee following a seven year victory drought.
Witte also described the secret behind winning Chaos Day. “It takes a tremendous amount of luck because these games are random; the people in them are random,” said Witte. “You could train if you wanted to but you wouldn’t even be able to guarantee that you would be in that event. It takes some skill, people who think creatively and are agile, but it takes a lot of luck. That’s the way it should be — it’s supposed to be chaotic.”
This year, Chaos Day returns to the East Beltline field after being held indoors last year at the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center due to poor weather.
With regards to the events set for the day, Witte states, “There are no rule changes; there will be some new events and there are always new events.”
“We have some events that have re-occurred multiple times, some of those will change and they often do. There is no special effort on our part to mess with anybody,” said Witte.
There is also a favorable chance that the renowned Moses statue will make an appearance on Chaos Day as he has done in previous years.
“It’s kind of funny when he makes his appearance and most of the people look at him and think ‘Who is that? What is that about?’ But it’s a fun introduction to the tradition too,” said Witte.
“I don’t know where Moses is but I’m sure I’ll get a message from Moses in the next day or two that he’d like to make an appearance so I usually have an advance warning that it’s gonna happen,” added Witte.
In the end, Witte leaves some wise words for all Chaos Day competitors: “The competition itself is a blast; the end result is virtually meaningless — that’s what I love about Chaos Day. Everything leading up to it and during it is competitive and fun and visually interesting from the colors to the costumes to the dances on the field that day.”
“But the end result ultimately is meaningless because two weeks from now, really the hall that remembers who won is the hall that won and our lives continue and go on.”
