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First Outdoor Rec Fest draws over 1,100 participants

A Liberty University student participates in a rock climbing contest.

Liberty University Campus Recreation staff representing the Outdoor Recreation department, Student Activities, the LaHaye Student Union, and Camp Hydaway helped organize and facilitate Friday’s and Saturday’s inaugural Outdoor Rec Fest, which attracted more than 1,100 people to participate in nine outdoor-themed events.

“This is something we’re looking to do annually as a spring event,” said Joshua Yeoman, director of Outdoor Recreation. “We’re hoping to build off this year and would love to grow it and see it flourish, to get more student participation in the festival moving forward.”

The action-packed weekend kicked off with a bouldering competition on the LaHaye Rock Wall that featured 70 competitors and close to 200 spectators.

There were a total of 75 submissions for an outdoor photo competition, where students cast votes for the winners. Three photo workshop sessions, led by photographers from Liberty’s Marketing Department, instructed budding photographers on everything from how to pack gear and what to bring on outdoor photography excursions to how to shoot the night sky.

The festival featured two movie screenings in the LaHaye Event Space. On Friday night, “Inspired to Ride,” documenting the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race, was followed by a Q&A with exercise science professor Dr. David Horton. The feature film “Everest” was shown Saturday night.

Yeoman said that in the future he hopes to hold a film competition and festival where students submit short films themed around the outdoors to be screened in conjunction with the event.

More than 200 runners registered for the Liberty Mountain 5K, the fifth of six races in the Liberty Mountain Trail Series, held Saturday morning.

In the afternoon, Dr. Gene Sattler of the biology department guided a bird-watching hike, and one of Liberty’s Outdoor Recreation student managers led a Cooking Expo to teach students how to cook out of a backpack.

Vendors from Camp Hydaway, Eagles Nest Outfitters, Riverside Runners, Blackwater Bike Shop, Outdoor Trails, and Angler’s Lane participated in a Gear Expo on Saturday in the LaHaye Event Space, with experts in their respective fields showcasing gear ranging from hiking and fishing to cycling and running.

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