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For many Oles, spring break means service, biking and Frisbees

By John Andert '10
March 18, 2008

OleSpringRel2
Last year's Ole Spring Relief II group, like this crew here, spent last year's spring break cleaning out hurricane-stricken homes in the New Orleans area. This year some 150 students are traveling to Biloxi, Miss., to help with ongoing cleanup efforts.
For many students at St. Olaf College, spring break is about more than basking in the sun and partying. From the Ole Spring Relief III crew that will help with reconstruction efforts in Biloxi, Miss., (follow this year's group via staff member Shayna Melgaard's blog and read an account of last year's Ole Spring Relief II endeavor) to cycling team members who will pedal to Arizona, students at St. Olaf know how to put their skills to good use when they have a few days off from class. Following are just a few examples of the variety of trips students have planned.

Ultimate=Life
With spring just around the corner, students are dusting off their Frisbees and looking forward to the day when the discs will again be flying around campus. But one group doesn't have to wait for the snow to melt in Minnesota. The women's Ultimate Frisbee club team will travel to Georgia during spring break to compete in several competitions that they have been training for all winter.

First the team will head to Statesboro, Ga., to compete in the 7th Annual College Southerns Tournament. They will compete with 30 college teams, including many highly ranked NCAA Division I schools. Then they will travel to Savannah, Ga., for another tournament called High Tide, where the competition will be fierce. Team Captain Andrea Henkel '10 says she hopes the tournaments will help prepare players for the College Series, a national tournament sponsored by the Ultimate Players Association.

"By playing these high caliber teams, we hope to give our very young team more experience that will hopefully translate to an improved showing this spring in the UPA College Series," Henkel says.

Traveling together over spring break also will provide time for team members to get to know each other better, she says.

"The trip is a major bonding experience for the team that leads to a more cohesive group when we arrive back and start back into the more intense spring training," Henkel says. "Team members are friends on and off the field, and playing a tournament together far away from home only reinforces this idea."

Cycling to Arizona
Since the first snow fell, members of the St. Olaf cycling team have been waiting to escape the restrictions of indoor bikes in sweaty gyms. Two members will soon get that chance as they join the cycling team from nearby Carleton College in traveling to Tucson, Ariz., over spring break.

The St. Olaf cycling team has been in existence on and off for many years, but lately it has had four straight years of loyal cyclists. The cyclists have been busy in recent weeks oiling their chains, pumping up their tires and taking a refreshing ride up and down Ole Avenue. During their trip to Tucson, they will be riding five to six hours a day on their bikes, building strength and endurance for the rest of the cycling season.

Jake Boyce '08, a member of the team, said that he is ready to escape the Minnesota winter. "The trip will be great for many reasons -- first off, I won't need to dress up like an astronaut in order to keep from freezing (while cycling)," Boyce says, noting that the road conditions will also be perfect for traveling such a long distance.

Spreading Faith in Nicaragua
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) will travel to Nicaragua over spring break to put their skills into service.

As a student organization devoted to developing a deeper understanding of Christianity, the FCA meets once a week for singing, special speakers, skits, and fellowship. The group is not comprised solely of athletes -- rather, the FCA uses the word "athletes" to create a metaphor for "exercising" their faith through fellowship and service projects.

They'll get a good workout during their spring break service trip to Nicaragua, which will include teaching English in schools, construction projects, and leading open-air meetings like worship services for towns in the evening. Among the many Oles who are participating in this service project is Daniel Langseth '10, one of the group's coordinators.

"I feel a real compulsion to do service work," Langseth says. "I see spring break as sort of a built-in opportunity to do service work every year."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.