The MIPA Cup Tournament has seen setbacks due to the weather.
The competition adds up points for each class, or “team,” for participating in activities throughout the week. Each student has to check in with an activities assistant to receive points for their team.
The first major opportunity for points is the volleyball tournament. Set to begin on Monday, August 4, the game was canceled because of a thunderstorm.
“We knew it [the cancellation] was a possibility this year,” Activities Director Melissa Mueller said.
The first round was rescheduled to 4 p.m. on Tuesday. To accommodate for the setback, the first set was a “lightening round” of 10- minute games. The team with the most points at the end of the round is the winner and moves on to round two.
However, Mueller has noticed low points for Monday’s activity.
“[There’s] not as many kids checking in,” she said. “[but] there’s a lot of kids playing games, there’s a lot of kids really hanging out and doing things.”
Activity Assistant Melanie Sweet has also seen this. She had low expectations for event turnout, but they were exceeded.
“I’m pleasantly surprised to see how many kids actually do the organized things,” Sweet said.
While Fenton High School student Ally Barnett has not gone downstairs to play activities, she still intends on helping her class win points by playing in the volleyball tournament.
“My teacher really wants to win the MIPA cup,” Barnett said.
Grand Ledge High School student Claire Kinloch plays volleyball as a setter for her school, and will be playing in the tournament. She has also gained points for her class by taking part of the Instagram challenge and making friendship bracelets in the lobby.
All this coordination is for more than just organization purposes. Mueller and the other workshop directors use the MIPA Cup Tournament for research and future ideas.
“It helps us keep track of what the kids like,” Mueller said. “If all of them are playing cards, then we know that that’s a great activity to have.”
Currently, there are several teams tied for first place. Points from Instagram photos and the volleyball tournament are tallied every night. The team with the most points at the end of the workshop will win the MIPA Cup trophy with the class name inscribed on it.
All these competitions are incentive to get out, have fun, and make new friends throughout the week. The tournament gives kids a chance to bond and create a good rapport with their peers.
“There were people were throwing tomatoes together [at the Vegetable Olympics] then after they bonded and they introduced themselves after going through an entire bag of tomatoes,” Sweet said. “So it’s kinda cool to see the events like actually bringing the kids together.”
The Vegetable Olympics was played at the same time as the volleyball games, as an alternate for students not interested in playing the sport.
“Everybody can do the Veggie Olympics because they’re silly and they’re fun and they’re crazy and it takes zero skill level,” Mueller said. “You get points just for doing it.”
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