McAndrew Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University – Carbondale hosted a different type of game than it normally would – twisting participants back to their childhood days with the spin of a dial.
The Beta-Chi Chapter gathered about 200 people to play Twister in a Guinness World Record attempt for the world’s largest board and raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
The board – made from 200 mats taped together – measured more than 100 feet long and 43 feet wide.
People of all ages and sizes cautiously stretched and squished their bodies as they followed loudspeaker commands, doing whatever possible to reach the circle color with the assigned body part.
All profits went to the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute for Alzheimer’s research. The late Frater President Reagan suffered from Alzheimer’s in the latter stages of his life.
The idea was Frater Billy Baber’s, an undecided freshman from Paris, Ill.
“I always look at Guinness – the world record site. I saw one that was the world’s largest Twister mat, and I thought that it would be cool to break,” he said.
The previous record was set in Sweden with a board measuring 88.9 feet by 27.6 feet in 2005.
The record attempt must be authenticated by Guinness before it becomes an official world record.
Baber said that one of the biggest incentives, other than benefiting Alzheimer’s, was reconnecting with a game that many haven’t played since they were children.
“If you don’t do something for a while, and then you remember it years down the road, you’ll be like, ‘oh, that sounds pretty fun. I should probably do that,'” he said.
Players were eliminated for failing to switch circles when duplicate calls were made and for removing a body part from a circle.
As the group of players grew smaller, remaining players were challenged after the board was folded five different times to further confine those who remained.
The final five players competed on a single Twister mat.
Dan Sepulveda, a sophomore from Joliet studying kinesiology, represented TKE in the final round and took fourth place. Sepulveda told of having to make quick, difficult moves, weaving in and out of other people near awkward areas of their bodies in order to make it so far in the game.
“It was a little uncomfortable, but we made it through,” Sepulveda said.
Competition wasn’t the aim of the game, though.
“We raised a lot of money for Alzheimer’s, and that’s what it’s all about. We were shooting for a goal of about $2,000, and I’m pretty sure that we at least met that,” said Joey Coonce, a senior from Bloomington studying computer science.
Although organizers were pleased with the turnout, they said it could have been better.
The Sigma Kappa shootout was held at the same time in the Student Recreation Center, and several TKE members said they had concerns about a conflict between the two events.
“I kind of wish (the conflict) didn’t happen, but it’s fine,” said fundraiser chair John Mathews.
Six members of their fraternity missed out on the Twister game for the shootout, whose proceeds also benefited Alzheimer’s.
“Overall, Alzheimer’s still wins,” said Mathews, a sophomore from Rockford studying music business.
Mathews has worked on the fundraiser since February by advertising the event and taping the mats – which they received at a discounted price from the Hasbro toy company – together in two hours with the help of his brothers. He also got friends in the band Mathien to play for free at the event.
“We just thought it would be a fun event that people would show a lot of support for since it’s going towards Alzheimer’s Research,” Mathews said. “It’s something original and just out of the blue.”
The Offices of the Grand Chapter applaud the efforts of the Beta-Chi Chapter in the world-record feat and philanthropic endeavor.
Adapted from the Daily Egyptian. If you would like to see your chapter news here, contact Communications Coordinator Tom McAninch.
