Regatta Royalty

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On Saturday, Sept. 22, IUPUI hosted its grandest Regatta yet. Not only does 2019 stand as IUPUI’s 50th anniversary, this year also celebrated a decade of Regatta. With 165 being the largest number of teams competing than ever before, Regatta also featured changes of location, a variety of performances and entertainment, and scholarships for participants on the first-ever Regatta Royalty.

“Applying to be on the Regatta Court actually started with a friend of mine emailing me the link,” Regatta Court semifinalist Riley May said. “She was on the Regatta Committee and said that she wanted to see me on the court. At this point, I had no idea that Regatta Royalty actually was replacing Homecoming Court, so I soon found out that I was in a bigger commitment than expected.”

Replacing Homecoming Court was this year’s premiere of Regatta Court, with new Court Contest rules and a point system to determine semifinalists. Candidates of Regatta Court had standards to uphold in order to be eligible. Not only was a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 required, campus involvement, leadership qualities, personality, and more were considered.  

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2019 Regatta Court (photo provided by May)


“Being on Regatta Royalty represented for me personally the faces of IUPUI. Being on court was such an honor. I was very flattered to have been chosen,” May said. “IUPUI has chosen those individuals to represent them for a week and placed this privilege onto them. I was just super excited to have this opportunity to be with the ‘best of the best.’”

Other ways of earning points were offered, which were kept track of by the Regatta Steering Committee. Points were earned through interviews, attending different 10 Days of Regatta events, social media posts, online voting, and raising money for scholarships. At the end, two people crowned Regatta Royalty received a scholarship of $1,000.

10 Days of Regatta offered a multitude of activities each day for students to participate in – movies in courtyards, a jazz fest, “S’mores & Oars,” and much more. One of the main events, Battleship, consists of trying to sink other teams on canoes in the Natatorium. Contestants not participating in canoes also have the option to buy buckets of water to throw at contestants.

“I have been in Battleships for three years now and have competed every single time. My freshman year, I actually got to finals and got to battle it out in the canal, which was an amazing experience,” May said. “During Battleships my sophomore and junior year, we didn't progress that far, but I knew so many people participating that we were just as excited for them when they won.”

The Natatorium also hosts another event, “Flick and Float,” in which a movie is played on the big screen while students float in tubes in the pool.

“I didn't personally get to attend this event my sophomore year, but I loved it this year. We watched Finding Nemo in the Natatorium as we floated around on innertubes,” May said. “It was super relaxing, fun, and something no other school gets to say that they have had. I got to swim with my friends in an Olympic pool watching Nemo – not many people get to say that.”

If interested in participating in Regatta Royalty in future years for a chance of earning a scholarship and being more involved, apply on the Den each August. It highlights “the best of the best” on campus and allows students to be firsthand involved with activities surrounding Regatta.

 

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