In past years, Fieldstock events have not attracted many students, but this year saw increased involvement, particularly with the addition of the Kickoff party, according to Class Council Fieldstock co-chair Cassie Ryding '13.
The idea for the Kickoff party at the Chieftain developed following the success of Riverfest a similar event at the same location earlier in the summer. The event was the best attended of the Fieldstock activities, Ryding said.
In order to compete in the Fieldstock events, teams had to participate in the jello-eating contest, the tug-of-war match and the chariot race, and had to send a representative to be dunked. Many of the teams that registered to compete did not end up participating in the chariot race because they were unable to complete a chariot, according to Ryding.
Teams were organized into male, female and co-ed divisions. Although the Afro-American Society and a group of people not associated with an organization registered to compete in Fieldstock, only Greek organizations participated in all the events, according to Katherine Shu '13, Student Assembly Fieldstock co-chair. Delta Delta Delta sorority and Psi Upsilon fraternity placed first in their respective categories.
Ryding said that many Greek organizations have the advantage of having a physical plant in which they can build and store a chariot, which may account for only Greek organizations participating in the chariot race. She added that Greek organizations have established budgets that can be used to buy materials for building chariots, which other organizations may lack.
Tri-Delt Fieldstock co-chair Noelle Ramirez '13 said that, in the past, Tri-Delt has not had a chariot that met competition regulations, so getting the sorority a chariot this year was her priority.
Following about five hours of building and painting and several trips to Home Depot, Ramirez and her co-chair Liz Evans '13 led the charge in acquiring and refurbishing a chariot for Tri-Delt that met the competition's regulations.
Ramirez said that the chariot is still in good condition, and she hopes to pass it down to future classes.
"We're also passing down our training regimen," she joked.
Only two organizations Psi U and Beta Alpha Omega fraternity participated in the chariot race in the all-male and co-ed divisions. Four sororities Alpha Xi Delta, Tri-Delt, Alpha Phi, and Epsilon Kappa Theta competed in the all-female chariot race, in which Sigma Delta's chariot was disqualified. Last year, a total of six teams participated in the chariot race, while over 10 teams participated two years ago, The Dartmouth previously reported.
The chariot race returned to campus in 2006 after a 22-year hiatus due to safety concerns, The Dartmouth previously reported.
The races were originally a Green Key event, but the difficulty of the race course which many chariots did not survive and the tradition of pelting participants with food and drinks prompted its suspension.
In addition to the competitions and the Kickoff party, the weekend's events also included a barbecue, a volleyball tournament and a Deluco concert, which all took place on the Green and were organized by Programming Board. Attendance at the concert, however, was below 10 people at times.
In past years, Fieldstock has been spread over four days instead of three and included a block party similar to the one held on Webster Avenue during Green Key, according to Shu.
The decrease in the number of days over which the events occurred was intended to keep each day "more packed," she said.
The organizers also did not want Fieldstock to compete with Consent Day on Wednesday, Shu said.
Caroline Liegey contributed to the reporting of this article.
