Bundling up for Winterfest

Student Affairs, Student Athletics and the Undergraduate Student Association will host the first Winterfest on Friday and Saturday.
The two day long winter festival is the first of its kind at the University at Buffalo and will feature several events and competitions for students to contend in.
'As a community, there really isn't much to do outside in the cold unless you ski, and people here look forward to the spring so much because they get sick of the long Buffalo winter weather,' said Tom Tiberi, senior assistant director for University Residence Halls & Apartments. 'This is something fun for students to get involved with and they can go outside and actually enjoy winter.'
Opening ceremonies will begin on Friday and will follow with igloo and snowman-making competitions at Student Park behind Lake La Salle parking lot.
On Saturday, participants will compete in broomball, human dog-sled races, snowshoeing and Olympic-style events such as curling and ice-skating on Lake La Salle.
'We really wanted to utilize the lake [because] it's a resource [UB] hasn't tapped into for a very long time,' Tiberi said.
Teams will be awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in true Olympic fashion at an elaborate awards ceremony. First place winners for each event will receive passes to Colden Tubing, Co., a downhill tubing park located next to Kissing Bridge.
Students can form teams to participate in more recreational activities such as polar bear kick ball and enjoy a horse drawn sleigh ride throughout the festival as well. Refreshments and food will also be available.
Tamika Wilson, a senior occupational therapy major, has already registered and is looking forward to competing in broomball and the snowman-building contest.
'We have Fallfest and Springfest, why not celebrate winter?' said Wilson.
Karen Rochford, assistant director of Marketing and Sports Clubs for Recreational and Intramural Services, is especially excited for broomball, a game similar to ice hockey in which two teams of six use brooms to push a puck or ball on the ice.
Rochford finds it interesting that many students she works with on campus have never heard of the game before.
'Where I went to school [at SUNY Brockport], broomball was huge. We had intramural leagues and played all the time,' said Rochford. '[My friends and I] are pretty excited that it's being brought to UB for a weekend.'
Because the Winter Olympics kicked off this week, Rochford believes that Winterfest could not have come at a better time.
'[Winterfest] has the potential to become something huge, like a UB-Olympic type event, where Greek life and other clubs could compete, extending over a week instead of just two days,' Rochford said.
Tiberi is also optimistic for the future of the event.
'This is just the first year, so we're just seeing how much interest we can get,' Tiberi said. 'But I wouldn't be surprised if it grew into something bigger.'
Students do not have to live on campus to participate and can register as individuals or with teams. All registrants will also receive a free fleece cap. All interested participants can register online now at http://www.housing.buffalo.edu/winterfest.

E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com