On Feb. 14, a number of normally sensible College students will strap on a pair of skates and a few layers of padding, to try to leap as many kegs as they can all in the name of charity, as well as a few laughs.
Winter Carnival weekend is upon us, and the brothers of Psi Upsilon fraternity have again changed their front yard into an ice rink in preparation for the 17th Annual Psi Upsilon Keg Jump.
The crowd grows as the hour approaches. At the signal to start, the brothers participating commence jumping, starting with one keg, and adding a keg after each successful jump. As more kegs appear, more and more padding is layered on the landing area and on the participants. Participants wear hockey pads, motorcycle helmets, anything that could protect them from the cold, hard ice, and the cold, harder kegs.
The tradition of creating an ice rink in Psi U's front yard every winter is an old tradition.
"We had the ice rink in front of the house long before the actual keg jump started," Psi U President Sean Levy '99 said. According to Psi U alumni, the tradition of the ice rink started 10 years before World War II.
The keg jump dates back to the early 1980s. Levy said, the brothers started jumping kegs, their own version of the tradition of jumping over barrels on ice skates.
In 1984, the brothers of Psi U decided to jump as a fund-raiser for charity.
When the Jump became a charity event, the brothers first gave the proceeds to a local diabetes clinic, in addition to holding a summer camp for the clinic's patients.
At present the proceeds from the event, which includes $25 from each participant and the sale of the popular Keg Jump t-shirts, go to David's House in Lebanon or Outreach House in Hanover.
Planning the event is not an easy task.
The Keg Jump takes a full term of preparation. Creating the ice rink takes such a "constant effort" that one brother was appointed "rinkmeister" for the term to ensure "someone is always outside laying ice that has a thick enough base that will last a whole term," Levy said.
"We have empty kegs that have already gotten approval by the College. We use them every year," he said.
The College does not officially aid the event or ensure safety, Levy said, but all the safety precautions are undertaken by the brothers in what could potentially be a very dangerous event.
Participation in the Keg Jump is only open to Psi U brothers "for obvious safety reasons," Levy said. However, over the years, injuries have fortunately been few, and minor.
"There has never been a serious injury that I can remember," Levy said. There have been a few broken bones in the past, but not even injuries as serious as that in recent years, he said.
On the big day, usually the Saturday of Winter Carnival weekend, the brothers get out the kegs, mattresses and other assorted padding and bring them out to the ice rink.
Not all brothers participate in the actual jump, but all help with the set up and operations of the event, Levy said.
Greg Walsh '98, who plans to participate in the jump this year, said he participated in the last two Keg Jumps.
"I can't really comment much on my experience, however, as my own recollections aren't very clear. I'm sure it was a great time, though," he wrote in an e-mail message.
Walsh estimated that 10 to 15 brothers will participate in the jump.
The record for kegs jumped stands at 13, which many participants have successfully cleared, according to Levy.
"A lot have tried 14, but it's never happened," Levy said.
