Amidst the scorching sunlight, students geared up in ‘Battles Balls’ to participate in the ‘Bayou Battle Ball’ organized by the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

The students teamed up, and some even participated individually in the game which is an alternative of soccer. The players got into the ‘Battle Ball’, which is a huge rubber ball filled with pressurized air and played the game.

Whitney Hicks, the committee head for the event, said that the idea originated by their advisor Michael Roboski.

“We were given the choice of trivia night and battle ball, and we thought battle ball would be more fun for the weekend.”

Hicks, a senior business management major said that Battle Ball is all about team’s effort. She illustrated that the game would follow the basic soccer rules.

“It’s pretty much soccer with the same ball. The teams just focus on scoring the goals.”

CAB had the sign-up sheet online, where participants could join.  Hicks said the participation was over whelming.

“This is a good event for the students to get out of their monotonous life. We want to offer more events to people who stay on campus on weekends to come out. This is actually our first time trying it on campus,” Hicks said.

With the aim of getting students out of their dorm on Saturday, CAB came up with the event. “This is a kind of trial to see what would people come out and do on weekend, would they participate and see their response,” Hiscks said.

Hicks was glad the event had a high turnout despite not having much promotion time.

“Given that we did not have enough time to promote, I feel that we had a good enough turnout in the time we had,” Hicks said.

Sarah Afford, a freshman dental hygiene major, baked like a potato while she played the game.

“It’s fun though. It’s a great way to relieve stress. I am sweating a lot, but it feels better to exercise. I fell a few times, but I did not hurt myself. It’s always fun to get aggressive without actually hurting anybody or yourself,” Afford said.

Afford likes to participate in the events CAB comes up with.

“I wanted to participate in the ninja tower which I could not do because I am terrified of heights. I miss out on events which are in between classes. They come up with lots of stuff which I have not even heard of and having the stuff for free for students is fun,” Afford said.

Afford said that college students are broke and being able to enjoy herself while on campus for free is nice.

“Even if I am on CAB, I am playing the game, I am supposed to be working right now,” Afford said.

Cheyenne Smith, a freshman pharmacy major, said she plays soccer, but this is a new kind she has ever tried.

“It’s like playing soccer wearing a trash bag around your face,” Smith said.

She said the most difficult part was getting up after getting knocked down.

“You have to adjust getting the bubble around your face,” Smith said.

Smith said that there is not usually a chance of getting into the bubble so she could not stop herself from trying it.

Hicks said that Kyle Weiss, Brandon Banks, Jihad Allen and Reggie Wells were the top four players.

Hicks further said that CAB would probably conduct ‘Battle Ball’ again on campus.

She also said that CAB is coming up with many exciting events for mid-term week and homecoming.