Nominations wanted for athletics persons

Are you a student-athlete? If not, do you feel like you deserve recognition for being good at sports? As the HOPEYs are coming up in the week to follow, there has been call for awards that recognize individuals who may not be in a sport, but boy do they deserve an athletic award. Traditionally, the HOPEYs celebrate the accomplishments of Hope’s student-athletes, and rightfully so. However, there are many students on Hope’s campus who have proven to be extraordinary when it comes to athletic ability.

“NARPs” is a commonly used term to refer to those who are not on an official varsity sport at their college or university. NARP stands for Non-Athletic Regular Person. Although the term may sound degrading or inaccurate, students should be proud to be called a NARP!

Being a NARP means that you don’t have to be at practice everyday, and you’re probably focusing on your future or getting the chance to apply your natural athletic abilities to more productive activities!

A NARP may be the individual you see running up the stairs to class in a reputable split, the fellow riding down the sidewalk on his long board that decides to try a jump trick as you pass by (landing or not), or the girl that you think is going to throw the frisbee back to you only to tactfully throw it to the  tree thirty feet away. NARPs can do sports, too, in their own creative way.

So this year, there are a few awards up for nomination that will be given to only the most elite NARPs on Hope College’s campus. Please send in your nominations via social media  posts that use the hashtag #hopeNARPYs2k18.

The first NARPY award goes to a person that has clocked one of the fastest times running from the science center to DeVos, avoiding arriving late to class: The Paul Sc(hop), skip and a jump to DeVos Award.  The second NARPY is based on the Hope tradition that you must ask out anyone you hit with a frisbee, typically by accident. It goes out to someone who has executed an amazing frisbee throw just to get the date they wanted: The “They’re not out of my frisbee league” Award.

And then we have those individuals who find a way to play every intramural sport offered at Hope. They never had that one sport, and it wasn’t because they were lacking talent, but rather because they are good at everything. This athletic phenomenon will be named The IM Enthusiast.

Let’s not forget the technical skill of balance. We’ve all seen someone pile Phelps Dining Hall’s soft serve ice cream onto a cone higher than we could ever imagine. For this, recognition will be paid where recognition is due via The “I scream for ice cream” Award.

Finally, for those who have scaled trees in order to tie multiple hammocks over one another; there is an award for you, too. With proof of the most hammocks stacked on top of each other in a successful seating pattern, nominations will be accepted for The Hammock on Hammocks Award.

If you are a NARP, you are eligible for any and all of these awards! The impressive acts that you carry out in your “regular” life are now being recognized. Give yourself and your NARP friends some credit!