Students caked in mud laughed together while waiting in line for hot dogs near the lake behind the Virgil Henson Activities Center. A DJ, blasting out modern pop hits. Right in the middle of them all, West Texas A&M University students played a volleyball game while standing in a foot of muddy water.
On Sept. 13, 2024, the Activities Center hosted Mudfest for the second year, an annual mud volleyball tournament. Both members of WT’s athletics programs and members of the student body could enter to compete for t-shirts and bragging rights. However, some students participated for nothing but the love of the game.
“This is my second year doing it, and I love playing volleyball,” said Pew Zaw, a WT student and Mudfest participant. “Volleyball is like a daily thing for us. And so we’re just here to have fun, and just make new friends and have a good time.”
WT used to host an annual “mudder,” an obstacle course run through muddy terrain. In recent years, WT has decided to forgo its annual mudder. Last year, members of the Activities Center’s staff came up with a new idea to revive the activity.
“We were all talking about how to bring the mudder back and really liked the idea of a volleyball tournament,” Justin Cornelsen, WT’s Director of Regional Sports, said.
The event was fairly well attended in 2023, but Cornelsen was aiming for increased turnout during this year’s events.
“We have hot dogs, chips and music,” said Cornelsen. “We really are hoping for increased turnout. We really want to make this a big event for WT students.”
The event was put on with help from the Canyon community, who also showed up to make this event special for WT students.
“The water was all provided by the Canyon Fire Department,” said Cornelsen. “We really can’t thank them enough.”
The unique terrain created an interesting challenge for the players, with the surface being harder to maneuver on. Some students planned ahead for how they would avoid some of those pitfalls.
“You can’t run in it or jump in it,” said Dylan McMullen, Mudfest participant. “So you got to be smart about where the ball’s going in the first place. So you don’t get trapped in it.”
Other players took an entirely different strategy.
“There’s no secret to dealing with the mud,” said Zaw. “Just dive for everything. All right, just dive for everything. Get as dirty as possible.”
If the smiling faces and dirty t-shirts of the WT students in attendance were any indicator, his advice won the day.
