Late Night with the Otters: an entertaining tradition
Elena Moreno, Staff Reporter

The excitement of the clock striking midnight on a 21st birthday is a similar feeling for the CSUMB athletes participating in Late Night with the Otters.

The annual tradition is an occasion for the athletes to show the school their appreciation for continuous support and it also is a chance to thank the students who come out to support the teams.

Although the night marks the first practice for both men’s and women’s basketball teams, all the CSUMB sports are recognized.

Though the doors didn’t open until 9:30 p.m., students were lined-up outside by 9 p.m. so they could be one of the limited guests to get a Late Night with the Otters t-shirt. Once in the gym, the countdown to midnight began and there were games, prizes, and activities throughout.

Following a fantastic dance performance, the first event of the night was a raffle for a bag of CSUMB goodies.

The raffles lasted all night with prizes such as two large pizzas from Mountain Mikes’ Pizza, Alumni Association gifts, a bag of Otter gear, Sunshine Freestyle Ski’s or snowboarding free rentals, beach wetsuit free rental and bags of other goodies.

Following the raffle, each sports team was introduced one at a time and each team introduced the activity that followed.

Men’s soccer introduced a “4x4 relay” activity, women’s soccer introduced a “Head It and Catch It” activity, sailing introduced a “Sail Launch” activity, Baseball introduced a “Pitching” contest,” women’s basketball introduced a “Knock Out” activity, men’s basketball introduced a “Short Hoop Slam Dunk” contest, cross country introduced “Steal the Bacon,” women’s golf introduced a “putting” contest, men’s golf team introduced a “Frozen Relay,” softball introduced a “Stuff Your Face” race, volleyball introduced a “Serving” contest and water polo introduced a “Dizzy Bat” activity.

“Late Night with the Otters reminded me of ‘Jersey Night’ at San Pascual High school in San Diego,” said freshman Alana Tweed, who thought it was interesting that homecoming events still take place in college.