Summer 2014 Sea Olympics

The Sea Olympics are a well-known tradition among Semester at Sea alumni. Eight seas (students grouped in cabin halls) compete in a variety of events, challenging intellect, athleticism and teamwork. The eight hours of competition were a welcome break from midterms, the sun shone down on the MV Explorer, and the energy of camaraderie only increased as the day went on. The last event of lip-synching was performed before a packed Union of the entire community. The Bering Sea (the reigning sea from Spring 2014 voyage) took the overall win of the day, earning the rights to be first off the ship in Southampton on August 21.

Vertical1 — Shannon, daughter of Assistant Executive Dean Kristin Hageman Sykes carries the Olympic torch for the opening ceremonies of the Summer 2014 Sea Olympics.

Sea Olympics-3 — The “L3’s” (Lifelong Learners) formed a V for victory during their cheer competition.

Sea Olympics-4 — The faculty and staff team, the Black Sea-lebrities, act out scenes of boat drill gone wrong for their cheer.

Sea Olympics-5 — The Caribbean Sea takes on the Mediterranean Sea in 3 on 3 basketball, where the Caribbean eventually won the event.

Vertical2 — The frozen T-shirt contest consisted of teams of two having to completely melt a t-shirt out of a frozen solid ball, which started off using friction and body heat to melt the ice.

Sea Olympics-8 — The L3’s won the frozen T-shirt contest as the first team to defrost their T-shirt and put it on.

Sea Olympics-9 — Coming in second, the Yellow Sea cheered as their team finally donned their still icy shirt.

Vertical3 — The wet-suit relay consisted of five team members putting on and taking off a soaking wet mechanical suit and swimming one lap in the pool.

Sea Olympics-12 — After sliding in, participants swam as fast as they could across the pool while being weighed down with the jumpsuit.

Vertical4 — The Arabian Sea takes on the Bering Sea in the in volleyball, where the Arabian Sea took the gold for the event.

Sea Olympics-15 — The most popular event, synchronized swimming, took place with a packed pool deck, starting off with the Sea-lebrities.

Sea Olympics-16 — Faculty, staff and dependent children synchronized their hearts out for the Sea-lebrities as the MV Explorer continued on her way across the Baltic Sea.

Vertical5 — The winners of synchronized swimming, the Bering Sea, wowed the crowed with a full five-minute performance with almost perfect choreography.

Vertical6 — The Adriatic Sea won the lip-synch competition hands down as Hailey Graves of California State University Northridge brought the audience to a standing ovation after she single-handedly managed the popular duet “Love is an Open Door” from Frozen.

Sea Olympics-21 — The Caribbean Sea danced and lip-synched their way into second place.

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