An amazing race (loosely based on the CBS TV Show) is scheduled to take place this Saturday at Canalside. For the fourth year in a row, University @ Buffalo will be immersing students into a spectacular race that will have them scouring Buffalo and UB’s North and South Campuses for various checkpoints that they must cross in order to excel in the competition. The idea behind the race is to get the students to become familiar with Buffalo’s transportation systems and key destinations, instead of simply watching them hang around the same old collegiate spots for the duration of their stay.
“Organized by the Office of International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS), University Honors College, and Honors Student Council (HSC), the UB Amazing Race involves twelve 2-person teams of students solving clues that lead them to “check points” pre-staged through the city,” said UB representative Chris Bragdon. “At each check point, teams must complete a series of mental or physical tasks that are unique to the region. Last year’s race had competitors learn to play a guitar chord at a local music store, pitch a ball outside Bison’s Stadium, find a specific tomb at Forest Lawn Cemetery and eat hot wings at Anchor Bar, among other tasks. This year’s completion has racers reciting Shakespeare in the Theater District, finding a certain shark-headed girl in Canalside, scanning archived front pages of the Buffalo News, and constructing toothpick towers in UB’s Goodyear Hall. For the downtown portion of the race, competitors will travel via Social Bikes, courtesy for Buffalo BikeShare, who donated 24 bikes to this endeavor. Other legs of the race will utilize the NFTA subway. The first team to successfully finish the race wins a cash prize.”
Undergraduate and graduate students from around the globe will be competing in the race. The students will be getting to know Buffalo through “friendly competition”. This will also be a way for students to bond with one another. Race participants will set out from Canalside this Saturday, October 3, at 10am rain or shine.