By Ella Resor

resore@findlay.edu

Nearly 200 University of Findlay students made their way out to the Ice Box Arena at the Western Equestrian Farm for Collegiate FFA (CFFA) and Block and Bridle’s annual Ag Olympics. Freshman animal science pre-veterinary major Molly Ralston was one of those students.

“The straw bale toss was definitely the hardest,” Ralston said. “But I liked the lassoing a lot, that was probably my favorite.”

CFFA and Block and Bridle hosted the event on Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. bringing students together for an evening of competition, laughter, and agricultural-themed fun.

CFFA Faculty Supervisor and co-barn manager at the animal science center Joseph Payton said the Ag Olympics has been a long-standing tradition during his 11 years at the university.

“Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve been doing it,” Payton said. “I just supply the stuff they need and help out with whatever they ask.”

Payton has served as a CFFA supervisor for the last four years and said the event continues to draw a strong student turnout.

“I mean it goes in cycles; some years are more or less,” he said. “A lot of that depends on the weather and such, but I think on the whole it’s increased.”

Payton says the event provides a sense of community.

“I mean the biggest thing is it’s fun,” he said. “Something to give them a break from class and they get a fellowship with other students.”

CFFA President Madelyn Laskowski, a senior animal science/pre-vet major has been involved in the organization since her freshman year.

“Yes, it has changed slightly since I started, but the event has happened annually,” she said. “My freshman year, it happened here on campus, and the events were pretty similar, but it was a little scaled down because they had to bring everything to campus, and then the last two years we moved it out to the farm.”

Laskowski said the Ag Olympics is a free event open to all students.

“We usually get 150 hoodies, and I know every year that I’ve been there, they’ve all been gone pretty quickly,” she said. “I would say probably about 15 to 20 percent is CFFA, and everybody else is outside [the clubs].”

Planning the event requires early coordination with several departments.

“We have to start planning pretty early because we need SGA to approve the budget,” Laskowski said. “So we have to plan all of the prizes, we have to design the hoodie that we’re giving away, figure out pricing and all of that, communicate with the bookstore… and before we can order anything, we have to put all of that together and present our ideas to SGA.”

The lineup of events this year included a greased pumpkin toss, a straw bale toss, a sack race, and a lasso competition. Prizes for the top three teams included a speaker, a BlendJet, and an assorted snack box.

“I think it’s a good chance to just give yourself a couple hours off of studying to just come out and do something fun,” Laskowski said. “You get a free hoodie, free food, and get to have a good time.”

“I just enjoy watching the students interact,” Payton said. “One year, they did an animal call, and that   was pretty entertaining to watch them do that.”

“I heard about it through CFFA,” Ralston said. “It was a lot of fun. It was nice doing it with a partner and good community.”