Like Dartmouth's annual Winter Carnival, the winter carnival at the Tuck School of Business features snow sculptures, ski races and drinking. But Tuck's carnival is held two weeks later, and every imbiber of alcohol is of legal age.
One of the Tuck carnival's oldest and most competitive traditions is the Kneissl Cup boat race, a drinking game that pits teams of Tuck students against competitors from other business schools. Tuck's team triumphed over a team from the MIT Sloan School of Management in the finals of the Kneissl cup to win this year's competition. Richard Mumby Tu'07, one of five Tuck students who oversaw the carnival's planning, estimated that the Kneissl Cup has been an ongoing tradition for about 22 years.
On a decidedly different note, Tuck's winter carnival also boasted a family-friendly aspect: Saturday included a "Tiny Tuckie Play Date," so that business students who are also parents could bring their children to the festivities.
"There are a lot of families and students who have children," Mumby said. "There were a bunch of kids who came out to the skiway so that was a lot of fun."
The carnival is intended for both Tuck students and students from other business schools who visit for the weekend. This year, the carnival attracted students from 18 other business schools including the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Yale School of Management, Babson College and the Daniels Concert of Business from the University of Denver -- the school whose students traveled the farthest to take part in the carnival.
The main event on Saturday was a ski competition between Tuck students and students from other business schools, held at the Dartmouth Skiway. Tuck's A-team finished first in the race this year and its B-team came in second place. Tuck fielded five teams, each with an average of six racers, at least one of whom had to be female. Races were judged using the top four times per squad, with the stipulation that at least one of those times be from a female skier.
"[The judging criteria] is trying to get some equity so that you don't just field really good guys," Mumby said, regarding the gender policies for the races.
Most visiting schools brought fewer teams. In order to participate on one of Tuck's teams, skiers underwent a time trial. Awards were given to the top ski team and to the fastest male and female individual skiers.
After the ski races, students from different schools were encouraged to mingle in a non-competitive environment.
"There was an apres ski party and that's when all the schools start to get to know each other and then it crescendos, if you will, with the boat race competition," Mumby said.
Tuck's carnival also included a snow sculpture competition. Michael Sinclair Tu'07, one of the students who oversaw the carnival's planning, estimated that there were approximately six sculptures competing this year. The winning sculpture depicted snowmen playing pong.
Friday night featured a four-hour "Kick Off Party" with "beer provided; cash bar available" at Whaleback Lodge, a local ski mountain that hired Tuck students to do consulting work earlier in the year. Whaleback also hosted the "Final Party," which marked the conclusion of the carnival on Saturday night.
Sinclair said that the planning for this year's carnival, from beginning to end, took approximately six months. While most of this year's carnival followed the same format as previous carnivals, the organizers did plan a new event, a hot dog eating competition that occurred Saturday afternoon.
