This month, students on the University of Notre Dame campus will experience a new kind of dorm energy competition. Megawatt Madness will match up dorms in head-to-head competitions to see which residence hall can implement the most energy-saving practices. Dorm match-ups will rotate each week. The competition runs for three weeks, from Feb. 4 (Monday) through Feb. 24 (Sunday), giving every dorm a good shot at being a winner.
“Each dorm gets to start over and play a new opponent each week, so the structure of the competition really keeps students engaged,” says Kate Christian, vice president of GreeND, which is sponsoring the competition. “At the end of the competition, your dorm will have a menu of prizes to choose from if a hall has won one, two or all three competitions. The more wins, the bigger the prize.”
The grand prize options for three-time winners include a tour of Notre Dame Stadium for the entire dorm, a frozen yogurt party, and a movie night at Browning Cinema.
“I like that dorms are competing against other dorms from the same era, because it really levels the playing field,” says Elizabeth Callam, co-president of Students for Environmental Action, which is co-sponsoring the competition. “The brackets are also great because there are more winners and everyone is more motivated to save energy.”
Brackets are available at green.nd.edu/madness. The website also shows real-time energy usage by each dorm and competition standings, along with tips to help save energy.
The Office of Sustainability, is co-sponsoring the competition, along with the Center for Sustainable Energy, Student Activities Office, Facilities Design and Operations, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the Athletics Department.
“Developing this competition has been a really collaborative process,” says Brianna Kunycky, president of GreeND. “We’re thrilled to have so many partners around campus sponsoring prizes and helping us make Megawatt Madness a success.”