Students bounced their way closer to Homecoming at the Bounce Madness event Wednesday night in the Student Center Ballroom.

The event has been going on at Kent State for six years. This year, was the first year the company Game Craze was used for the inflatables, said Rebecca Kapler, coordinator of commuter and off campus services.

Before the fun began, students had to line up outside the ballroom and fill out waivers for the event.

Once the doors were opened and the event was in full swing, students waited in lines for the inflatable of their choice and were helped and guided by the staff members at each inflatable.

A cotton candy machine was also available for students to have something to eat between all the ‘bounce madness.’  

“We use the ballroom because it’s a good big space to fit plenty of people,” Kapler said.

Everything took about two hours to get set up prior to the start time of the event.

There are five inflatables plus a mechanical bull and a cotton candy machine. Anywhere from 300 to 500 people attend the event each year. Mostly students and sometimes families with children, said Kapler.

Freshman zoology major, Selena Stealey heard about the event through the FLASHperks emails she receives.

“I wanted to come, I’m a child and it sounded like fun,” Stealley said.

This was the first time Stealey has attended the event since being at Kent State, and also plans on attending the game.

Freshman biology major, Tim Rooney, attended the Bounce Madness event because he heard about it through the event staff. His cousin, who works for Game Craze, suggested he come, Rooney said.

“Boulder dash was my favorite, I had a good time on it,” Rooney said.

Rooney is part of Kent State’s wrestling team and will also be attending the parade and the game. “I’m actually in the parade, well the whole team is in the parade,” Rooney said.

Freshman speech pathology and audiology major Ashlie Covert also heard about the event through the calendar, like the majority of the friends she came with.

“I haven’t been on it yet, but the ironman inflatable looks really cool and will probably be my favorite,” Covert said.

Senior geology major, Elizabeth Bargdill, came to the event because of hearing about it through her sorority.

“The competition inflatable (bungie run) was my favorite,” Bargdill said. “It gave me my exercise for the week and it was fun to compete against my best friend.”

To see more Kent State events and dates check out the Center of Student Involvement website,http://www.kent.edu/csi.

Paige Verma is a student life reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at[email protected].