CWRU launches Spirit Week ahead of the Hudson Relays

For years, the week leading up to the Hudson Relays had a name: Legacy Week. This spring, it gets a new one—and a new energy.

The Student Presidents' Roundtable has rebranded the annual spring celebration as Spirit Week, which will run April 20–25 and is intended to promote class spirit leading up to CWRU's big class competition: the Hudson Relays. 

The Hudson Relays—CWRU's longest-standing campus tradition—close out the week on April 25, with six teams representing all four undergraduate classes, graduate students and alumni competing in a 26-mile relay*.

Spirit Week may officially begin April 20, but the celebrations get an early start. Tonight (April 17), comedian Atsuko Okatsuka takes the stage at Severance Hall at 7 p.m., and tomorrow (April 18), OneCWRU Day will bring a free, all-day community celebration to Veale Recreation Center and Van Horn Field. The event will feature collaborative activities, service opportunities and community-building events for all ages.

Spirit Week officially opens with the Student Leadership Awards Ceremony on April 20, celebrating the students who've shaped campus life this year. From there, things get more hands-on: a free produce giveaway at the Kelvin Smith Library Oval on April 21; a chance to sign the Spirit Wall outside Tinkham Veale University Center on April 22; and a merch decorating station April 23 where students can tie-dye and customize tote bags, baseball hats and more. 

On April 24, the campus community is encouraged to wear their Hudson Relays class color for Spirit Day: first-years are pink; second-years are red; third-years are green; fourth-years are light blue; graduate students are orange; and faculty, staff and alumni are CWRU blue.

April 25 brings the relays—and a relay watch party at Strosacker Auditorium—in the morning and Springfest on East Bell Commons in the evening, wrapping up with a fireworks show after the concert. Springfest is a student-planned event that celebrates CWRU and fosters campus unity through inflatable attractions, games, student organization booths, food, music and more. 

Follow @sal_cwru or @cwruspirit on Instagram for event updates and chances to win prizes throughout the week—and follow @cwru on Instagram to watch live coverage of the relays.

Check out the entire Spirit Week schedule of events.

*April 17, 1:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this story noted the Hudson Relays were to take place along the original 26.2-mile route from Hudson, Ohio to Case Western Reserve. That is no longer the case.