Boola Boola: SOM's Second Annual Cohort Olympics
At 12:59 p.m. this past Saturday, the dunk tank was ready. The hula-hoops were laid out, the jump ropes uncoiled and the bouncy house inflated. All that was missing was the children.
Or, rather, the 20- and 30-somethings who comprised the highly trained athletes of this year’s Cohort Olympics. Another of my favorite events at SOM, this recently inaugurated tradition takes place in the late spring, pitting cohort against cohort in truly purposeful and eminent activities such as three-legged races, tug of war and gravity-defying egg tosses.
Like most SOM community events, partners, children and pets came to participate and/or cheer the teams on, making the next three hours a boisterous affair on the grounds of East Rock Park. My Silver Cohort, the perennial underdog, fought valiantly for a bronze finish, and never have I been so proud of coming in third (out of four places).
Because, at the end of the day, Cohort Olympics is about celebrating the sense of community, school pride and good-humored fun that is so unique to this place, and I’d be lying if I said I won’t miss it terribly next year. Boola boola, indeed!
