Friendly competition ensued as students competed in the annual College Cup on August 6 at the Student Recreation Center on the Belknap Campus. Tony Simms, director of student wellness for the School of Medicine, stated this was the 11^th year the event took place. Teams were divided up based on the student’s assigned Advisory College, which is determined upon matriculation to the School of Medicine.

“The Advisory Colleges are a unique aspect of the School of Medicine. Few other universities offer such programs, so when we started it here in 2011, it was a big draw for students to have an automatic built-in support system,” said Simms. Each college is named after either a past Dean of University of Louisville School of Medicine or a significant historical member of the medical community.

“The Advisory Colleges are great because they focus on connecting our incoming students with upperclassmen. It fosters strong relationships and reminds students that wellness is extremely important while in medical school,” said Simms.

College Cup is one of several events over the course of the academic year involving the Advisory Colleges. The event itself contains few events requiring serious athleticism, but instead focuses on activating the mind, creativity, and spirit. “We try to host multiple events that aren’t reliant entirely on physical strength and are welcoming to all sorts of people,” said Cynthia Morse, coordinator of student programs. This year’s events included dodgeball, tug of war, rock-paper-scissors tournament, art competition, relay race, capture the flag, musical chairs, and eating competitions.

Morse said College Cup reminds students to have fun, take care of themselves, be social, be a part of a community, be a whole person, and take breaks from studies to avoid burn out. “The event is a comradery building event to foster community among the [advisory] colleges that students are assigned to when they enter their M1 year.  It is a great way to get to know people and share in a common goal.”

“College Cup is a great way to showcase all the various talents and enthusiasm that ULSOM students have to offer, but more than this, College Cup is a time for first-year medical students to continue meeting their classmates be encouraged by upperclassmen to remember there's a work-life balance to value when entering medical school,” said Alexis Harris (M2).

Participation in College Cup is voluntary, but this year saw nearly a quarter of the SOM student body population compete. “My favorite part of College Cup is when there are events that widdle down to only a few participants (musical chairs/paper-rock-scissors tournament) and so the entire focus of all attendees shifts to one place and a few people.  Everyone circled around a small group of people.  It is really fun to see the entire crowd cheering on the remaining participants, start chants, and cheer on someone they just met a week prior,” said Morse.

The winning team takes home the College Cup trophy and receives bragging rights for the year. Looks like this year bragging rights will be shared amongst two colleges as there was a tie! Congratulations to Fitzbutler and Moore colleges on winning the Cup!