Little 5 criterium race route and week's events to shift

489

 DePauw's favorite spring tradition, Little 5, is to be revamped this year with a changed racecourse and the addition of campus wide events to the week's schedule.

This year's route will not center around the Lilly Center and Julian Mathematics and Science Center like last year, but has instead been shifted to center around the Green Center for Performing Arts. The route that will be used for this year's races has been used previously, but was not able to be used last year due to construction. The roads have since been repaved and are now ride-able.

"The course we are using this year was used about a decade ago, but got moved to the track due to poor road conditions," said junior Paul Dugdale, co-chair of the Steering committe. "It's a really great route because it goes right through the center of campus, past the GCPA, Julian, Lilly, the Hub, the freshmen dorms and several greek houses.

The new route will offer greater visibility to spectators and offer a more social and open venue.

"With the new route spectators will be able to see three-fourths of the race, as opposed to last year when many parts were not visible," Dugdale said. "The route will also be weather-friendly because there are so many buildings around. If you look at the atrium of the GCPA you can see two-thirds of the race track."

Along with a plan for an improved route, there is also a plan to get campus more involved in the activities, rather than just focusing on the riders and on greek organizations. There are plans for a variety of activities to happen throughout the week, along with the usual races on Friday and Saturday.

"We want to get a lot of students involved because it is not just a greek event, it is a campus-wide event," Dugdale said. "We have some great idea for events throughout the week from a 5k run to an obstacle course on tricycles to a raffle."

Planning is still in the beginning stages. The Steering Committee, a group of representatives for each competing team, is currently meeting to brainstorm ideas and finalize plans.

"We are really excited about this year, we have a lot of new and exciting things that we are planning," Dugdale said. "Get hyped."

Safety meetings for riders will take place Tues. Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. and Wed. Feb. 29 at 11:30 a.m. Location is to be decided.