The obstacle course competition united multicultural preprofessional, Greek and social organizations to encourage fitness and community bonding.
Pretty Girls Sweat hosted their “Survival of the FITtest” obstacle course competition this past Friday in Old Union Hall. Featuring preprofessional, Greek and social groups, the event challenged representatives from each organization to compete in various obstacle courses for the title of “The FITtest.”
The competition commenced with several words from the event’s lively host, Derek Jorden, a resident director of Rafuse Hall. Reflective of the event’s nature, Pretty Girls Sweat empowers college women through fitness.
Gianna Peña, the organization’s president and a senior majoring in psychology, shared how the event stemmed from an idea the organization had for a one-hour general body meeting. Peña said they felt that “Survival of the FITtest” could be a way to bring the multicultural community together in a fun and interactive environment.
Each organization was introduced to the audience as hip-hop and rap music highlighted their entrances and charged the engaged audience.
The first round challenged the participating preprofessional organizations to a relay race-style obstacle course, including hurdles, scooters and exercises such as squats and burpees. The National Society of Black Engineers won against the Men of Color Scholastic Society and the Charles Drew Minority Pre-Health Society and would go on to the next round.
The audience engaged in the competition from the sidelines as members of Pretty Girls Sweat handed out balls to throw at the contestants.
The participating Greek organizations, the Mu Kappa chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and the Malik Fraternity Inc. completed the same obstacle course — with the Malik Fraternity Inc. advancing to the next round. For the final round of the first obstacle course, the African Student Organization emerged as the winner against Pretty Girls Sweat and continued to the next challenge as the winning social organization.
Tiffany Ajijola, Pretty Girls Sweat’s vice president and a senior majoring in biology, discussed her hopes for the event.
“PGS has a slogan: ‘Make fitness fun,’ and I hope that’s exactly what attendees take away from the event,” Ajijola wrote in an email. “Exercising or getting your heart rate up should be something enjoyable, not something you dread. If it feels like a chore, you may not have found the right dynamic for you yet. I want attendees to see that fitness doesn’t have to be inconvenient — it can be a fun, uplifting experience when approached in the right way. I also hope people see PGS as a safe, supportive space where they can grow and become the best version of themselves.”
E-Board members and interns — who wore pink jackets and black flared leggings to match the organization’s signature color scheme — quickly set up the next obstacle course. Participants started by riding a scooter to a hula hoop and jumping through the hoop as they stepped forward toward a baseball bat. They spun the bat ten times and finished off by sitting on a pink balloon at the end of the course. Of the organizations that advanced from the last round, only the National Society of Black Engineers and the African Student Organization would continue to the final “Olympic round,” as they received first and second place.
A selection of food was served at the 20-minute intermission, including chicken wraps, empanadas, chocolate-covered strawberries and a choice of beverage over a pink tablecloth.
At this point, attendees could head over to the pink balloon arch set as a photo background to take pictures. Nenette Nti-Agyemang, the organization’s secretary and a senior majoring in psychology, described challenges that arose in creating “Survival of the FITtest.”
“The biggest challenge that I would say our executive board has had in regards to organizing the event is trying to execute an idea and it not meeting up to our expectations,” Nti-Agyemang wrote in an email. “I think that I can speak for a lot of my executive board when I say that many of us are perfectionists and we want our ideas to be carried out the way that we envisioned it initially. However, I think the way that we have worked through this challenge is being cognizant of the fact that for many of us, this is our first experience being on an executive board and we should avoid being too hard on ourselves. We are doing the best that we can.”
Next was an audience-only segment where attendees were randomly selected to participate in human ring toss and wrestling with inflatable sumo wrestler suits. Each competition consisted of two rounds. As the last round of the audience competitions ended, Jorden called Peña to the stage, who expressed her appreciation for the organization. She later elaborated on this.
“I can wholeheartedly say joining Pretty Girls Sweat was the best decision I’ve made for my social and professional development in college thus far,” Peña wrote in an email. “PGS has afforded me the opportunity to still find easy ways to keep up a healthy lifestyle without feeling the pressure to be super consistent or perfect. It is the most welcoming and genuine community I’ve found in Binghamton, mainly because we truly do value sisterhood and inclusivity. Going from being the Workout Coordinator last year to now being President has done wonders for my own personal growth and really allowed me to pour into something I truly care about.”
After the E-Board and interns posed for a few pictures, the final round of obstacle courses began. A balance beam, a pink tricycle and an archery station would be the determining obstacle stations where the organization would receive the title of “The FITtest.” Ultimately, the competition came down to the archery station, where an African Student Organization representative, Marcus Nahim, a sophomore majoring in economics, hit a bullseye first.
For Nahim, participating in “Survival of the FITtest” allowed him to be active — something he values as a student-athlete — while having the opportunity to engage in the event with people of other cultures.
Several awards were distributed to participants and organizations, including Best Sportsmanship, MVP and Most Comedic Performance. Nadia Nesredin, the workout coordinator and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, wrote that she hopes to include more challenging obstacles and a panel of judges should the organization continue to host the event.
Ajijola concluded with final thoughts on the event.
“Organizing and planning ‘Survival of the FITtest’ was an overwhelming yet incredibly rewarding experience,” Ajijola wrote. “It truly highlighted the strength of our teamwork and the passion we have for this organization. Every ounce of effort and hard work that went into the process was absolutely worth it, and I wouldn’t change a thing about the journey.”
