Special Events

  • Outdoor Photo Contest

    Outdoor Photo Contest: September 15-October 15

    Show us your skills as you capture the beauty of the outdoors! The Outdoor Photo Contest and Exhibit is an annual event sponsored by WSU’s Outdoor Recreation Center and Student Entertainment Board. This contest is open to any amateur photographers.

    Submissions will be accepted September 15 through October 15 (Images submitted before or after the posted dates will not be accepted). No more than four submissions per participant.

     

    Contact

    Matt Wagner| Coordinator, Outdoor Programs

    matt.wagner@wsu.edu

    • Judging Criteria

      The Outdoor Photography Contest aims to highlight human or naturally powered outdoor recreation. The photographs are judged by presentation and appropriateness of category, as well as by technical skill with the camera and visual framing of the subject. Leave No Trace principles will also be considered. The contest organizers reserve the right to refuse entries that do not meet these criteria. All photographs must be entered in a specific category.

       

      The categories are as follows:

       

      • Landscape: Photographs of large-scale scenes of nature as one might see while participating in human/natural powered outdoor recreational activities. No man-made structures.

       

      • Action Adventure: Photographs of people participating in human/natural powered outdoor recreational activities.

       

      • Wildlife; Still-Life: Photographs of wild animals in natural settings or close-up/isolated photographs of small-scale plants or natural scenes in natural surroundings as one might see while participating in outdoor recreational activities.

       

      • Cultural: This category includes adventure travel photographs that illustrate the cultural significance of another society. This category can also include domestic photographs that picture wilderness settings with historically or culturally significant structures.

       

      • Adventures of Yesteryear: With the Outdoor Recreation Center celebrating our 50th anniversary, we’re currently taking a celebratory look back at our history. In this same spirit, we’d like to see photographs from your adventures of years past. The moments that you’ll never forget. The moments that have inspired your or a loved ones next adventure.

    • How to Submit
        • Send your submissions to matt.wagner@wsu.edu
        • Depending on the files size of your images, you may need to send in multiple e-mails
        • Please use only JPEG format images, and rename your image file: artist name – image title – category.jpg
        • Example: matt wagner – mount rainier climb – action adventure.jpg
        • Upload the highest resolution image possible (less than 10MB).
        • The top 5 photographs in each category will be displayed on the ORC Gnome Facebook Page, as well as the Student Entertainment Board Gallery in the Compton Union Building. Winners of each category will be announced after the show is on display. The people's choice award will be announced on the last day of the semester.

       

    • Rules
        • All photographs that you submit must be your own work and you must own the rights to distribute the entry.
        • All eligible entries must have as their subject, the Title of the Photograph, then the First and Last name of the artist.
        • Any entry including a recognizable image/photograph of an individual must be accompanied by a photo release.
        • If your photo is selected you will be required to provide a signed release form for any identifiable individual in your photograph.
        • No more than four total submissions per participant.
        • Image needs to be at least 7 megapixels (3072x2304) in size to ensure quality printing
        • By adding your entry to the 2021 WSU Outdoor Photography contest, you authorize Washington State University to:
          • Use your entry for any educational and informational purposes in perpetuity.
          • Crop or manipulate your photograph or edit your text.
          • Use your name as the creator of the entry and state of residence.
          • While it is our intent to use images for non-commercial, educational purposes and with photographer credit, we make no warranty regarding use or credit once photos have entered the social media stream.
          • Photographers maintain all other rights to your entry.
          • Washington State University is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected or incomplete entries, or technical or submission errors.
          • Judging will be at the sole discretion of Washington State University.
          • Judging is based on image quality and visually expressing the experience of visiting and experiencing the outdoors.
          • The winning image may be used in various contexts and a hi-res image ensures the best quality.
  • Family Weekend

    Family Weekend: October 15-17

    Whoever your Coug Family is, celebrate Family Weekend with University Recreation! Find the full calendar of events on Coug Presence. 

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    Family Weekend: Les Mills Body Combat

    SRC Member: $0.00 Chinook Member: $0.00 Non-Member: $0.00
    Item ID: 187064

    Schedule: Sun 4:00 PM - 4:45 PM Location: Student Recreation Center Room 256

    Registration: Friday, September 24, 2021 - Sunday, October 17, 2021

    Open Spots: 29
    Register Now

    Class Dates: Sunday, October 17, 2021

    Instructor(s): Kasey T. (she/her)

    In this high-energy, martial arts-inspired, non-contact class, we will punch and kick our way to improved fitness and feel like the champ we all are! We will reveal our best fighter attitude as we learn moves from Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Muay Thai, Capoeira, and Kung Fu in a 55-minute cardio format. Designed for all fitness levels and experiences, no equipment and prior sports/combat experience are necessary.

  • ORC 50th Celebration

    Celebrating 50 years of Coug Adventures

    Thursday, October 28 | 4-7 p.m.

    Outdoor Recreation Center, Pullman | Available via livestream

    Joins us for stories, refreshments and dreams for the future. 

     

    Through decades of trips, educational programs, gear rentals, and more, the ORC has given students the resources they need to learn, lead, and connect outside, creating thousands of outdoor enthusiasts in the process. 

    ORC Canoe on top of Vehicle Rainier Mountaineering

    Growing Over the Years 

    The center started in 1971 with $600 in funding from ASWSU. Called the Outdoor Activities Program in its early years, the ORC began with a small office in the Physical Education Building run by a quarter-time graduate assistant and student volunteers. The rental “shop” consisted of a single metal cabinet with a few supplies, and the trips were free and largely unguided. 

    From those humble beginnings, ORC has evolved into a hub of outdoor adventure on campus that leads classes and trips for hundreds of students every year. These days, ORC: 

    • Offers over 100 classes, clinics, and trips each year. 
    • Manages and rents over $250,000 of outdoor equipment to students, with about 1200 rentals per year. 
    • Promotes environmental stewardship via Leave No Trace and has issued about 175 certifications annually since 2011.  
    • Hosts a free Palouse Outdoor Festival that introduces 100-200 students to outdoor opportunities in the Palouse each fall. 
    • Manages the Climbing Wall and offers over 100 clinics per year that bring in 22,000 participants. 
    • Manages the Challenge Program and Coug Bikes program. 
    • Met students on campus, at the trailhead, and online during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue facilitating outdoor education and foster belonging.  
    • Hosts a popular annual Photo Contest that typically attracts over 200 entries.  

    You can read more about ORC’s history and impact in the WSU Magazine. 

    Our Future

    Improving Access and Increasing Diversity in the Outdoors 

    In addition to facilitating trips and skill-building clinics, in recent years ORC has invested in multiple initiatives to improve access to outdoor recreation for underserved and underrepresented groups.  

    ORC partners with Cougs Rise to engage low-income and first-generation students in outdoor activities, worked with Access Center to launch adaptive climbing and kayaking, and created women’s programs to make female-identifying students feel welcome and comfortable in the outdoors. 

    ORC has also partnered with organizations to provide custom programs, including a Native American Students Programs stand-up paddle boarding and campout event and rafting and kayaking programs for the School of the Environment. 

     

    Give to future adventures with the ORC

    Throughout its 50 years, ORC’s programs have created space for thousands of Cougs to expand their leadership skills, push their limits, and forge connections in the outdoors. 

    With your support, ORC can continue to offer those transformative opportunities to all Cougs.  

    Giving to the ORC helps expand access to outdoor adventures so that all students, regardless of their ability, experience, or financial status, can explore the outdoors.  

    Your dollars can support a variety of tips and skill-building opportunities: 

    • A $50 donation: Covers a student’s registration for most day trips (for example, stand-up paddle boarding or kayaking on the Snake River, an introductory backcountry skiing course at Moscow Mountain, a Palouse Falls paddle, or a Learn to Climb class). 
    • A $100 donation: Covers a student’s registration for an overnight trip, such as Beginner Backpacking, Women’s Backpacking, and the Priest Lake Kayak Tour. 
    • A $250 donation: Pays a student’s registration for multiday programs like the Wallowas backcountry ski and hut trip, Cascades mountaineering, and wilderness first aid course. 
    • A $500 donation: Covers a student’s registration for an extensive trip such as the eco adventure at Yosemite, southwest desert kayak tour at Lake Powell, backpacking in the Grand Canyon, and the San Juan Islands sea kayak. 
    • A $1,000 donation: Could sponsor a small group trip or a custom program, or provide funding for two students to embark on an extensive trip. 

    Give to the ORC here.

     

Future events:

  • Swim the Pac-12 | Jan 11- April 28, 2022

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  • One Billion Rising | 2022 TBD

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  • Women in Recreation | March 2022

  • Intramural Beach Day | TBD, April 2022

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