Gladiator, a yearly event run by UBC Recreation, was on all day Thursday in the Student Recreation Centre. The event was Lord of the Rings-themed and featured the movies on a projector in addition to activities such as an inflatable obstacle course, a maze and a game called the eliminator, all of which were renamed to fall under the theme.
The event, which ran until midnight, was entirely volunteer-run.
“It’s been a constant planning process since we got back [from the winter break],” said Brittany Dehler, a fifth-year psychology major who helped plan and was volunteering at the event.
The event ran in two-hour heats, where co-ed teams of six to ten people each competed against each other in the various games for points which were added up at the end of the heat.
While some groups appeared to know each other very well, others did not and used it as a bonding activity. One team, who all dressed in plaid and called themselves “plaidinators,” said that they originally did not know each other very well and were mainly a group of mutual friends.
“It was a very disconnected group of friends who are now very connected,” said Michael Choi, a second-year masters of management and arts dual degree program student on the team.