As part of a week of events celebrating the return of in-person learning, The Auckland University Student’s Association (AUSA) invited students to “come and get your balls wet” with them at Shadows Bar.
Craccum was at the pong party, and although we forgot to sign up, we still got balls deep in all the action. In between rounds and ball-related puns, we asked competitors for their tips to get it in and if alcohol helped or hindered their performance.
First-year rookies Morgan and Tayla from team Morgana say alcohol “definitely hindered their game.”
“This is our first day on campus and our first time at Shadows,” said Morgan. We didn’t win, but we tried our best,” said Tayla. “If there was prize money, we might have tried a bit harder.”
Jenifer and Bruno, a.k.a. Princess and the Troll, said that although they didn’t come out victorious, the game brought them closer together.
“We played against guys wearing matching Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts. It was giving engineering frat boys. We were actually sober when we played, but we still lost,” said Jenifer. Bruno told us, “but we’re fixing that now.”
The chaos all led up to a final face-off between the teams Two Balls No Cup and the Splash Bros. Shanae from Two Balls No Cup looked like she was about to win it for the girls, carrying her AUT teammate Morgan. Two Balls No Cup had the opposite team down two cups to their four, but in a surprise move, the Splash Bros, who returned for a second stab at victory this year, came back from the brink.
It was a nail-biting finish with the teams being neck and neck, and in the end, the Splash Boys took the winning shot, taking home an impressive beer pong table prize. Apparently, the alcohol, and also having a mullet, helped.