Laughter, excitement and joy filled the front lawn as California Baptist University kicked off the first-ever Lancer Games on Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Lancer Games, a collaboration between Community Life and CBU Recreation, brought the concept of a campus sports day to life. The event gave students and alumni the chance to connect through games, challenges, and celebrations.
“The process of setting up these games and figuring out how to score them was challenging,” said Emma Ponchot, intramural lead for Recreation. “But working with Community Life helped us finalize the rules and scoring system.”
The Lancer Games introduced a new Saturday event on campus, aiming to provide students with a fun and active way to build community.
“The original vision was to create a field day for CBU,” said Jeremy Felker, senior Community Life intern and mechanical engineering major. “The Lancer Games were inspired by the Olympics, but we had to change the name for copyright reasons.”
The event featured a pentathlon—a five-event competition that kicked off with an opening ceremony, where participants met one another and formed teams. Players carried flags representing their teams, with red, green, and blue symbolizing team spirit and camaraderie.
“The flags were just colors to represent the different teams. We originally wanted to have teams represent different countries for more of an Olympic vibe,” Ponchot said.
The competition included a water bucket relay, 3-way soccer, a relay race, a riddle puzzle, and a target throw. Teams were scored based on their performance in each event, with medals awarded to the top three teams.
“This event was ‘Survivor’-inspired, with both mental and physical challenges,” said Mia Detken, sophomore kinesiology major.
The games drew about 40 participants, with spectators cheering from the sidelines as the teams competed.
The first Lancer Games was a success, thanks to the efforts of Community Life and CBU Recreation. The event fostered a sense of community through friendly competition, offering both undergraduate and graduate students a chance to engage in mental and physical challenges in a welcoming environment.
