Kent State University Libraries Office Olympiad

08/07/2024

Hello, everyone!

Tuesday was a rest day during the Office OLympics, so it allowed for reflection and recaps!

Friday brought us two events for competition: The "Quasimodo Climb" (library stairwell/elevator race) brought plenty of anticipation and heart-pounding action in both divisions. Congratulations to the medalists:
STAIRWELL DIVISION:
- GOLD: Andy Martineau (3:54)
- SILVER: Beate Gersch (4:17)
- BRONZE: Gen Brooks (Chris's daughter) (5:10)

ELEVATOR DIVISION:
- GOLD: Anita Miller (1:53)
- SILVER: Anita Martin (3:41)
- BRONZE: Phoeby Trask (3:54)

Kate Medicus provides the following report:
The judges were astounded by these travel times! Anita Miller did get lucky with a waiting elevator...but to get to the 12th floor in under two minutes is clearly a new world record! It was a great day for "Team Anita" with Anita Martin not far behind, in spite of numerous nasty elevator glitches, and a very exciting race overall with Miller and Trask finishing mere seconds apart. In the Stairwell Division, Martineau took the gold, as expected; he was the #1 pick in the betting pools. But Gersch surprised the onlookers by downplaying her determination prior to the race, saying she planned to just stroll up the stairs for fun and not worry about speed. Her performance indicates otherwise and this reporter later learned that she was taking the steps two at a time!

The LC Truffle Shuffle brought cataloging skills, speed and efficiency into focus. Congratulations to the medalists:
- GOLD: Anita Martin - with 100% accuracy and a time of 2:57:25
- SILVER: Tammy Voelker - with 100% accuracy and a time of 4:12:90
- BRONZE: Anita Miller - with only one error and a time of 2:34:18

Monday brought us the last day of competition in these Games. The stalwart Eiffel Tower Plunge (paperclip diving) brought precision, accuracy, and poise to the fore.

Tammy Voelker provided this report:
Merci beaucoup to the competitors who came out to show their stuff in the Eiffel Tower Plunge diving competition today! Bouncing paper clips were a frustration to many, but some still managed to pull off a splashless entry! Here are our medalists:
- GOLD- Anita Miller- 175 points
- BRONZE- TIE- Andy Martineau and Sean Kennedy – 125 points

Félicitations!

Seine-chronized Teams Messaging brought hilarity, musicianship, and aural precision to the fore. In what may well be a first in the Modern Era of these Games, Cindy Kristof earned all three medals as part of the winning teams! The perils of the wireless keyboard and emojis that have fascinating designations will haunt the competitors who remained undaunted till the end! Congratulations to the medalists:
- GOLD: Cindy Kristof and Andy Martineau 10.666
- SILVER: Cindy Kristof and Anita Miller 9.916
- BRONZE: Cindy Kristof and Tony Snyder 9.5

Join us today at 12:15 PM in the Garden Room as we close the Eighth Office Olympics of the Modern Era and present medals. Fun aplenty!

Tony Snyder for the IOOC

08/03/2024

Hello everyone!

Yesterday brought us the conclusion of Periodical Ping-Pong (Ping-Pong Périodique). Over the course of three days, the competitors truly showed their power, finesse, and agility, much to the delight of the fans! It was a distinct honor for this reporter to serve as the official for this event for the fifth time. Congratulations to the medalists:

- GOLD: Jasmine Jefferson
- SILVER: Sarah Vorndran (SMS student)
- BRONZE: Tammy Voelker

The traditional events continued with Paperwad Basketball (Basket-ball de Papier). Please see the following report from Kara Robinson:

We had a robust 18 competitors at this event.

Winning the GOLD was Andy Martineau with 62 points (7 one point baskets; 5 five point baskets; and 3 ten point baskets)

Taking the SILVER was Mike Collura with 49 points (24 one point baskets and 5 five point baskets)

The BRONZE medalist was Cynthia Williams with 45 points (15 one point baskets and 6 five point baskets).

For the next Office Olympics, Andy Martineau has agreed to run this event. We salute Kara for her many Office Olympiads of service!

The final event of Thursday was the Paper Airplane Throw (Paris Charles de Gaulle Concours d'Avions en Papier) . Eighteen participants took their shot at gold. When the last plane landed, the medalists were:

- GOLD – Andy Martineau 38 feet 4.5 inches
- SILVER – Mike Collura 31 feet 1 inch
- BRONZE – Kate Medicus 29 feet 8 inches

Congratulations to the medalists!

08/01/2024

Hello Olympic Enthusiasts!

Day 3 brought us the second day of Periodical Ping-Pong in the May 4th room and Toss Your Croissant, a co****le board competition, took place on the 5th floor.

Co****le Board results:
- GOLD (tie): Ken Burhanna & Lori Boes
- SILVER: Andy Martineau
- BRONZE (4-way tie): Christine Brooks, Nan, Liz Richardson, and Sarah Vorndran (SMS student)

Stay tuned for more updates!

The Flame still burns!

Tony Snyder for the IOOOC

08/01/2024

Hello to all of you!

The Office Olympics brought us many feats of athleticism and skill on Tuesday as Periodical Ping-Pong began play to legions of fans and the level of play astounded. Book Balance Beam brought out gymnastics skills from the competitors. Finally, Course de Caveau replicated a recent trend wherein obstacle courses become trickier than the norm.

Stay tuned for results!

The Flame still burns!

Tony Snyder for the IOOOC

07/30/2024

Hello, everyone! The Eighth Office Olympics of the Modern Era opened yesterday amid great anticipation, camaraderie, and spirit! Many thanks to all involved for their creativity and help!Yesterday, events opened with Lancer Du Disque (Floppy Diskus Throw).

Medalists were:
GOLD: Troy Cherrington - 91' 8"
SILVER: Paul Campbell - 72' 6"
BRONZE: Kelly Riley - 64' 2"

Congratulations to the medalists!

Today's events (all at noon) include Ping-Pong Périodique (Periodical Ping-Pong) in the May 4th Room, Livre Poutre D'Equilibre (Book Balance Beam) in 1018, and Course de Caveau in 370 (new obstacle course-style event). Join us, won't you?

The flame burns!

Respectfully submitted by:
Tony Snyder for the IOOOC

04/11/2024

Calling all Office Olympians! Announcing The 8th Office Olympiad of the Modern Era!! The 2024 Summer Office Olympics event is sponsored by University Libraries and will take place from July 29 through August 8. (dates subject to change.) For the latest info follow us here on Facebook or visit https://libguides.library.kent.edu/officeolympics.

Do you have the desire to be a part of this long-standing tradition and help shape the next Games? Contact us at [email protected] to be connected to the Office Olympics Planning Committee.

Will this be your year? 🏅

LibGuides: Office Olympics: Home

08/18/2021

Hello Office Olympics aficionados! Today the IOOC bestowed a VIP Award of 2021 Games upon treasured colleague Tony Snyder … the Inaugural KSUL Olympic Laureate! The brief ceremony was filmed for posterity.

https://youtu.be/awoMlpRmYvQ

Please join us in congratulating Tony! We fully anticipate seeing this prestigious award being on full display in Tony’s space for at least the next 3 years. 😉

08/12/2021

Premiering yesterday at the Closing Ceremonies, we now share with you the 2021 UL Book Cart Drill Team New (Abnormal) Games music video!

(For more info about the song choice, Google "TikTok Sea Shanty background". And as for the cats and kids? In a year of masks, social distancing and staying home, it seemed only fitting to showcase some of the companions that have kept the drill team afloat throughout 2020!)

A very serious book cart routine performed by Kent State Library employees for the Office Olympics. We are excited to present many of our most challenging a...