On Wednesday, March 27, the Student Activity Board (SAB) hosted an Uno tournament inside the Patriot Cafe at the College of Central Florida Ocala Campus. Around 50 students signed in to participate, with the room bustling with competitive spirit by the strange and unexpected climax.
According to Xavier Alex-Cortez of the SAB’s events team, the event was originally meant to be held in a different location – where the domino tournament was held last semester – but was moved to the cafe due to it being occupied for other purposes.
“It’s a lot better,” Alex-Cortez said about hosting SAB events in the cafe. “It’s a lot more open for students to view and also join in to the game.”
Nearly half the tables in the Patriot Cafe were reserved for play. Most were stocked with standard boxes of Uno cards, but there were some special decks available for adventurous players, too. These included the wildly impractical but fun Giant Uno, as well as a rainbow themed variation of the standard set. Carts of free snacks were also nearby, including multiple types of popular chips and sodas.
Each game winner in the tournament was awarded a prize, ranging from gift cards; to Uno decks, and even special Uno-themed T-Shirts.
The first attendee to win a round was Alyssa, who played alongside her young child, Arthur. The two made for an adorable duo, with the baby lovingly declared the true winner by some other players.
“He’s good luck.” Alyssa said.
After the preliminary rounds, players moved on to a series of “championship matches”. One member of the SAB said these rounds were “just for fun,” but the victors took pride in their achievements nonetheless. One competitor in this series of rounds, Emmanuel, stated that his winning game was only the second game of Uno he had played in his entire life.
In a bizarre turn of events, the event culminated in a Fruit Roll-Ups challenge. Here, the Uno winners competed to see who could roll a strand of a Fruit Roll-Ups snack into their mouth first. The champion of this final round ended up being a young man named Miguel.
“I’m really proud of it – I practice a lot at home,” he stated. When asked if this practice was for Uno or the Fruit Roll-Ups challenge, his only response was “I don’t know – That’s on you now!”
Overall, the event was quirky but fun for those who participated. It speaks to the continued success of the Student Activity Board this semester, which will hopefully continue into the future as more events take place at the Ocala Campus.
