The winner of the competition gets to keep the trophy for a year.
But this isn't the Stanley Cup - it's the first Lyman Briggs-James Madison Olympic Showdown.
"It's kind of like the Stanley Cup," said Jack Dodd, chairperson of the 14-member Lyman Briggs Student Advisory Council. He said the trophy will include the name of the school that won the competition each year.
"That way, we can see who has won it from year to year," Dodd said.
Students from their respective schools squared off for a friendly showdown involving games such as a three-legged race, water balloon toss and a mouth-to-mouth pass-the-orange contest.
The competition first started in the 1960s, when Lyman Briggs and James Madison College were established, said Greg Nowakowski, chairman of the James Madison College Student Senate and the organizer of the event for the college.
"Each school thought they were better than the other, and they were very competitive with each other," he said.
"The two student governments got together and said let's create an event that outwardly shows our competition."
And the canoe race was born.
Traditionally, the canoe race is the big draw, Nowakowski said. Students race on the Red Cedar River in the canoes, but the race has been suspended for the past four years because of high E. coli levels in the river.
This year, Lyman Briggs students tested the water and found the river is suitable.
But the canoe race didn't happen this year because the results of the water tests weren't available before the canoes were put in storage for the winter, said Grant Littke, James Madison College Student Senate adviser.
"We had hoped to organize it in late September, but we just missed the deadline," Littke said.
The tradition will most likely start again next year, Nowakowski said.
"Hopefully next year we'll get the canoes back in action so we can get the race going again," he said.
The idea for the Olympic showdown was an alternative way of continuing the competitive tradition.
The games are a fun way to compete without any name-calling or slamming of the other team, said human biology junior Keegan Jackson.
"It's all for fun," Jackson said. "It's a chance for everyone to do kid things again."
