The Spooklympics, hosted by the Southeast Asian American Student Association, brought 11 student organizations within the Asian/Asian Pacific American Students' Coalition together in a friendly competition of field games.
Organizations that competed included AZNA Dance, K-Pop Dance Evolution, the Philippine American Student Association, the Vietnamese Student Association, the Korean American Student Association, the Chinese American Student Association and some Asian-interest sororities and fraternities.
The groups competed in several games based on childhood contests recommended by various representing clubs, such as Cat and Mouse, Tug-of-War and Snake. Each club attended the event in costumes based on classic high school stereotypes such as jocks, skaters or gym teachers.
For this year's event, SEAASA aimed to increase the turnout by reaching out to more organizations than in previous years such as Asian-interest fraternities and sororities, said Sam Supriyasilp, the event coordinator for SEAASA and a sophomore studying nursing.
"It feels great to feel a sense of unity, especially as Asian American is a very broad term," Supriyasilp said. "It's just nice to see a lot of different identities and cultures of that Asian subgroup."
Kailana Williams, the videographer for the AZNA Dance performance team and a sophomore studying film media and production, said last year AZNA competed in the event and won a few games.
"There is a lot more enthusiastic participation this year, there are definitely more people in our specific club that came this year, and I think that was just due to letting go of embarrassment and being here for the community," Williams said.
A variety of scoring techniques was used in five games to determine the champion. The AZNA Dance team was the official winner of the Spooklympic trophy after playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to break a tie between the two top teams.
The event brought exposure and new experiences for younger members such as Shel Shee, an intern for SEAASA and a freshman studying business law.
"When I first got here, I really, really felt out of place," Shee said. "(Being) surrounded by people that I think I can connect with on a better level is very touching for me because I really miss home and being able to see these people brought me a little bit of closure."
Francis Campos, a member of the PASA executive board and a junior studying business management and supply chain management, said he appreciated the event's representation and how much the AAPASC community has grown throughout the years.
"I'm seeing new relationships and friendships being made right on this field," Campos said. "To show everybody there is a place for someone and a community that encourages having fun and collaborating with each other is really, really awesome."
Edited by Senna James, Tiya Talwar, Abigail Beck and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporter at kagore1@asu.edu and atlynch2@asu.edu and follow @kategore_17 and @alanamentions on X.
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