Arriving at Taylor Lawn for the sixteenth annual Rail Jam, it’s hard not to notice the fact that all the spectators are standing on stamped-down mud, all the snow having been gathered together to create this year’s course. With the booming music, enthusiastic announcers, and bright stadium lights beaming over the ski jump, the crowd pushed up to the barriers to get a better view.
As the late afternoon turned to evening, beer cans piled up on the side of the lawn, next to a rail that had to be removed due to lack of snow. Giada Ricobene, an international student from Italy who’s watched the competition for the past three years, says: “I love Rail Jam, [but] I think we don’t have enough snow this year.” Most other students shared this concern, commenting on the sun that had been shining down on the course throughout the day.
Between events, students start a snowball fight, hurling slushy ice blindly at one another from one side of the course to the other. To avoid getting hit, students huddle behin the competitors’ skis and snowboards, a reminder of just how much this community trusts its members with their unattended equipment.
“It’s impressive…I can’t get over the line of people wanting to go up there and risk their lives,” says Dr. Matthew Evertson, a first-year English professor at Western. “I love the student spirit about all this. I have been hearing the students talk about it all week, and I just had to come see it for myself.”
The weather is much warmer this year than it has been at previous Rail Jams, creating a slushy texture for the course. Spectators, however, are lucky, since the warmer weather for them means less frozen toes and fingers while watching the event.
One Western alumni, Kallie Klein, reminisced on the contest: “I think it’s one of the most popular events at Western and honestly, it was always my favorite event. I always remember it being extremely fun.”
As the event draws to a close and students are dancing to the music, a single golden firework goes off near the yellow announcer’s tent, garnering loud cheers from the audience.