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I first heard about Red Eye early in my degree: an overnight tournament with a bunch of teams competing in a ton of different games while functioning on little sleep – it honestly sounded crazy. I love sports and competing in any and everything, so I had to check it out. It wasn’t until my fourth year that I made a team with some of my friends and it was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had at the U of A.

Over 8 hours starting at 10 p.m. on a Friday, 22 teams of 10 - 15 people go head-to-head in a variety of activities, one of which is simply staying awake. I laughed when I told my parents about this event because they said they were in bed before we even started a game. 

The first few hours are easy; most of us have no problem staying up until midnight on a Friday, especially with 400 other people in the same boat as you. Pizza, snacks and energy drinks are provided to keep us functioning and the ‘lunch’ break gives you a wave of energy to push onwards. 

Red Eye might sound like an ultra-intense event with crazy competition, but it’s all about fun. With that being said, there are some who act like they are competing in the Olympics (myself included). 

Each team gets an assigned theme (ie. The Magic School Bus), and everyone is encouraged to dress up – it’s wild the costumes people come up with. Watching teams run around dressed like SpongeBob, Scooby-Doo and Pokémon at 2 a.m. is hilarious.

One of my favourite moments of the entire night was at 4 a.m., when my team was scheduled to play laser tag. Laser tag is always a good time but when you’ve been up for nearly 24 hours, running on caffeine and playing alongside your best friends, that will easily make for a core memory. It was truly a surreal experience when our team decided to change the script and charge the opponents – the confusion and shock on their faces were priceless and our laughter was infectious. 

I was surprised by how quickly everyone on my team became closer with each other. A good portion of us knew each other from classes, but friends of friends filled out the roster. The friendships built from pushing through exhaustion together created deep bonds in ways I’m not sure many other things can. By the early hours of the morning, the strategy we discussed went out the window – it became hard to focus, and we usually forgot the game plan we prepped anyway. 

We were all exhausted by the time the tournament wrapped up, as showcased by one of our teammates snoozing on the Butterdome floor. With that being said, we were eager to do it all over again. 

Red Eye is one of those crazy experiences that you will only get in university and never forget. Try it out, make some memories and enjoy the ride – you won’t regret it.