On Wednesday 17th February the UCD Suas Society broke the world record for the largest mat used in a game of Twister.
Between 350 and 400 students took part in the game, which was played on a mat covering a ground area of 1438 square metres. The record was previously held by students from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who played a game on a mat measuring 1411.8 square metres – approximately ten mats fewer.
The event itself, which was chiefly organised by the Suas society, was supported by UCD Students’ Union and by UCD Societies’ Council, and was held in order to raise funds for the Rag Week beneficiary charities.
A reported €890 was collected at the event, which will be distributed among five UCD societies including Suas, St Vincent de Paul, Rotaract, the IPA Society and the Gaisce society.
The central Suas Educational Development organisation assisted its UCD branch by providing buckets, t-shirts and photography for the day, while also offering advice for safety and guidance plans.
MB, the manufacturers of the Twister game, assisted the society in breaking the record by offering to sell game mats at a significant discount.
Auditor of UCD Suas, Dave Hegarty, has expressed his satisfaction with the event, telling The University Observer that “it went well on the day, and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.” He added that the record attempt “started off as just an idea, but quickly gathered pace; [eventually] hundreds of students took part.” Hegarty thanked those who had helped the society run the event, commenting that the society “had great support from the college and from MB in particular.”
Hegarty went on to say “it’s all for great causes. I volunteered with Suas in Kolkata a few years ago and I know that the money raised here can go a long way over there.”
Suas is a charitable organisation that raises money to enable educational development in underprivileged countries such as India and Kenya. Hegarty stated that the UCD society hope to run one more fundraiser before the end of the semester, but said that the success of such an effort would depend on the academic commitments of the society’s committee members.
Other fundraising events during Rag Week included a Pancake Sale on Tuesday and a performance from the Saw Doctors in the Student Bar on Wednesday.
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