For the second week back from Christmas vacation, things get a little crazy around the University of Alberta, ’cause it’s Geer Week! This event-filled week of fun, pride and competition brings together the engineering discipline clubs to compete against each other for supremacy and bragging rights for a year.

Geer Week is one of the longest running celebrations, and easily the largest and loudest faculty week at the U of A.

Monday

12:00pm Opening Ceremonies & Tug of War @ TBA

6:00pm Scavenger Hunt @ TBA

Tuesday

12:00pm Toboggan Races @ Quad

7:00pm Battle of the Bands & Dance Troupes @ TBA

Wednesday

12:00pm Shangria @ Quad

6:30pm Are You Smarter Than A First Year @ TBA

Thursday

12:00pm Keg Races @ Quad

6:00pm Movies, Trailers, Beer Commercials @ TBA

Friday

2:00pm Design Competition @ Solarium

Wondering what all the events are about?  Here’s some descriptions.

Tug of War – Teams of nine pull on a rope in a double elimination competition.

Scavenger Hunt – Look around the city for our list of 100 items. Pictures, videos, costumes, acting skills, timed purchases; all will be necessary in this challenge!  Viewing the results is also highly amusing.

Toboggan Races – Each club straps a member to a toboggan and has 6 teammates carry them around a timed course.

Battle of the Bands – Bands compete with 20 minute sets.  Both themed and non themed songs will be played.

Dance Troupes – Clubs shake their booty for all to see, usually during their band performance.

Shangria – Teams of 5 compete in a rally race.  Drink a beer (non-alcoholic), crawl under your team members legs, run 15 meters, spin around a bat 10 times, and run back.  Simple right?

Are You Smarter Than a First Year – Teams of 5 compete to show they’re smarter than a first year.  Random questions about engineering culture, debates about topics only engineers will understand, and a written exam.

Keg Races – A keg frozen with water at a 45 degree angle is pushed, carried, and rolled through a course by a team of 13 members.  Several ways it must be done are: blind folded, backwards, three legged, etc.

Movie Night – Clubs make a 15 minute movie related to their theme, as well as a beer commercial.  Sometimes, if they’re not feeling lazy, move trailers are also made.  These are always amusing, until ChemE comes on ;)

Design Competition – Teams of five have one hour to complete the design objectives.  Testing and presentations follow.