The Student Recreation and Wellness Center is letting students have a crack at some sweet treats when they participate in the Ultimate Piñata Challenge this Halloween.
The event, which will be hosted by the SRWC’s Inclusive Recreation Department, consists of three unique challenges in which blindfolded participants will crawl, dig and jump for a chance to win gift cards, movie passes and, of course, Halloween candy, according to the SRWC website.
The Inclusive Recreation Department’s mission is to culture and foster programs that are accessible for both people with disabilities and their non-disabled peers, according to Michael Freeman, aquatics coordinator for the SRWC.
“The goal [of Ultimate Piñata] is for participants to understand what it is like to be visually impaired but to still have nostalgic fun,” Freeman said.
The first part of the event will feature an interesting twist on the basic piñata game, according to Freeman.
“Participants will start at the piñata but will have to jog about 50 feet away [while blindfolded], then they can come back and try to find the piñata,” Freeman said.
Instead of candy, the piñata will be filled with 30 numbers, but only the students who find numbers one through 10 will win prizes, according to Freeman.
The second part of Ultimate Piñata will be a sand braille event in which participants will crawl and dig around in a sand pit containing thirty golf balls. The participants who find the ten golf balls labeled in braille will win a prize, Freeman said.
The final event will require participants to successfully toss animal shaped balloons into an empty bucket 15 feet away while blindfolded, according to Freeman.
Thirty participants are allowed in each of the three challenges, Freeman said.
“I figured candy and prizes would be a nice event for Halloween,” Freeman said. “It gives students something to do other than party.”
Eddie Recinos, freshman biology and physiology double major, said that participating in the event while blindfolded would be challenging.
“We would have to learn very quickly how to perform without vision,” Recinos said.
Patrick Wright, senior marketing major, said that the event seems like a fun way to raise awareness for the visually impaired.
“The activities sound cool, but difficult at the same time,” Wright said. “The prizes make it fun and will probably get more people out to participate.”
All students are welcome to the event and are not required tosign up beforehand, Freeman said.
Ultimate Piñata will be held on Halloween from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and will begin in the SRWC main gym. Students can find more information at asirecreation.org.
