Greek community flexes at Hardbody event

Members of the Greek community showcased their physical prowess yesterday outside the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Hardbody, as the event is known, has become a Greek Week tradition here at the UW, and this year the event saw a resurgence of participation.

“We feel that Greeks spend a lot of time in the gym, and we wanted to showcase their efforts,” said Coley Veitenhans, president of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

In years past, Delta Tau Delta’s Hardbody competition had been a four-day event that involved swimming, running, crunches and push-up contests. This year the event consisted of a single day with a bench-press contest followed by a skit and flex-off.

“Last year it was too hard to get an even attendance for every day,” Veitenhans said, “so this year we shortened it down into one event.”

There were 14 participants this year.

The rules for the event were simple: Men had to bench their body weight plus 50 pounds. Women had to bench their body weight minus 50 pounds. Both men and women had to complete a minimum of four reps, although several individuals did much more than four.

The fraternity winner was Lance Baird from Pi Kappa Alpha. Baird completed 23 reps at 255 pounds. Sorority winner Makenna Brinster, of Alpha Phi, completing 21 reps at 75 pounds.

While some of yesterday’s participants had been training and lifting year-round, others came out to simply give it their best try.

“I’d never lifted before today,” said freshman Kaylee Boyd, a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. “It was really fun to have everyone cheer me on, though.”

A five-person judging panel scored the skit portion of the event. The panel included three UW football players, Miss Greek winner Priya Iyer, and a personal trainer.

“The skit is meant to be a hopefully non -offensive display of physique,” Veitenhans said.