ASUCI’s inaugural Blue & Gold Spirit Rally will begin at noon and will feature appearances by UC Irvine athletes, new men’s basketball coach Russell Turner and other esteemed coaches and administrators.

It will culminate with a dodge ball game pitting the Blue Team against the Gold Team. An adjudicator from Guinness Book of World Records will ensure rules compliance and confirm the number of participants for purposes of world-record certification. Corporate partner Next Level Athletic Sports will provide 600 dodge balls for the event and assist in managing the game. Organizers are aiming for 2,000 participants.

Sam Shaw, UCI sophomore, envisioned this event last year and spent much of his freshman spring quarter handing out flyers and meeting with campus officials. He could not obtain enough sponsorship money to host the event on his own, so ASUCI began working with him to make UCI the site of the world’s largest dodge ball game.

The dodge ball event is one of many activities scheduled during the week of Sept. 20, designated as Welcome Week, when the campus welcomes more than 6,000 new freshmen and transfer students. Other events include student orientation events, Anteater Involvement Fair, open house and a beach day.