OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi‘s equestrian and ice hockey clubs are facing off head-to-head – in the kitchen, that is – all in the name of spreading the word about wellness services and resources available to fellow Ole Miss students.
“Dueling Dishes” will pit the two teams against each other in the educational kitchen at the William Magee Center for Wellness Education in an effort to expose students and community members to the many services and resources offered by the center, including hands-on cooking and nutrition classes.
Each team is in for a surprise when they arrive, said Jazmine Kelley, coordinator of wellness education at the William Magee Center and self-proclaimed microwave chef.
“Each team has submitted dishes to me, but I’ll have a surprise ingredient waiting for them when the competition starts,” Kelley said. “It’s going to be a fun night and a way for students and community members alike to learn about the resources we offer at the William Magee Center, which is located inside the South Campus Recreation Center.”
The competition will be judged by representatives of the Black Student Union, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Student Veterans Association and UM Pride Network.
Both the equestrian and ice hockey clubs are known for their large and loyal fan bases, which makes the event a great opportunity for the clubs to connect with their followers and for the wellness education staff to share their resources with a larger audience, Kelly said.
John Witmer, hockey club president and a sophomore economics major from Golden, Colorado, said he is excited to have another reason to engage with the team’s fan base after a season without games.
“We make every effort to connect with our base and expose new people to hockey,” he said. “We saw so many more people excited after we beat Arkansas in the SEC Championship because they don’t have to know the difference between a blue line and a clothesline to get excited about that.”
The William Magee Center is a resource many club athletes have taken advantage of, whether for nutrition, general health or fitness.
“This is a cool opportunity to expose other club athletes and students to it because they have so many resources,” Witmer said.
The competition will be streamed over Zoom at 6 p.m. Thursday (April 1) and can be watched by following this Zoom link.
Anyone interested in learning more about wellness education or educational kitchen programming can do so on the William Magee Center’s Instagram page.
The William Magee Center was established in 2019 to help students and the university community understand all facets of physical wellness, including activity, diet, sleep, hygiene and substance use.