The Health Promotions class hosted the Third Annual Howlympics and raised a total of $5,130 for the A-State Rugby Team.

The student-led event was put on to raise money for the team. Arkansas State’s Rugby team is a club sport and does not receive the same funding as other National Collegiate Athletic Association sanctioned sports. 

Participants could purchase a $10 wristband or individual tickets to participate in athletic competitions. Participants could win prizes if they made it to the top leaderboards.  

“My students spend two semesters in the Health Promotion class. The fall is health promotion, assessment and planning and then in the spring, it’s implementation and evaluation and they find a group on campus that has a need and then they try to find a way to meet that need,” said Sya Heidi Rigsbee, health promotions instructor.  

The students chose to fundraise for the team this year due to them being top eight in the United States and not having the same funding as other sports. 

“Being a part of the class, I have seen my fellow classmates go above and beyond for this event to not only be successful but to also help support a great cause that easily goes overlooked by our own university officials,” Seth Copeland said. 

Dylan Grant, a business administration junior from Zimbabwe, said most of the money will go toward traveling for games and sponsoring other teams when they come to play them. 

The events included a dead hang bar and pull ups competition and a basketball shootout. It also featured cornhole and with a minute on the clock, students tried to accumulate as many points as they could. 

One booth was called ‘Are You Stronger Than a Rugby Player?’ featuring assessment stats about rugby players’ vertical long jumps, standing long jumps and pushups. Students would compete to see if they could beat the top scores.  

“I think Howlympics is a good way for rugby to make some money,” said Gabriella Orick, a junior exercise science major from Paragould. “I’m going because there’s an extra credit opportunity for my class.”

There were many prizes for those who won. Grizzlies tickets were given out at 2 p.m. Other prizes included gift baskets with things like T-shirts and Stanley Cups, a Hydro Flask cooler and gift cards to different restaurants, coffee places and workout facilities. 

A-State Rugby has their next game at West Point, NY on April 1 at 12 p.m.

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