Tugging at a record

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Maria Sharp

Students raised money for charity and unofficially broke a Guinness World Record at this year’s Mud Tug event.

RIT students unofficially broke a Guinness World Record Sept. 22 for the world’s largest tug-of-war tournament.

At the 17th annual Mud Tug, 1,647 tuggers beat the previous record of 1,290, set by students in the Netherlands in 2010.

Phi Kappa Psi and Zeta Tau Alpha Greek organizations host the annual tug-of-war event every year between teams of 10 competing in male, female and co-ed brackets. The event features five mud pits, which help to emphasize the event’s motto, “the winners celebrate and the losers take a mud bath.”

“We wanted to get more people involved and thought that attempting to break the world record for largest tug-of-war tournament would help us do so,” says Jenna Deutsch, a fourth-year advertising and public relations major and president of Zeta Tau Alpha. “We actually broke it last year but didn’t fill out any paperwork—so we knew it was possible.”

While the tournament may be dirty, it’s for a good cause, with all proceeds going to Hillside Family of Agencies. This year, the students raised $10,800.

“The combination of school spirit and everyone working together for a good cause is emblematic of what RIT is all about,” says President Bill Destler.